THE  LIBRARIES 


'''^^li^'^^^r"  r-'T'i^i'-i^t^o--^^ 


REMINISCENCES  OF 

GEORGIA  BAPTISTS 


REV.  S.  G.    HILLYER,  D.D. 

Author  of  "Manual  of  Bible  Moralitv" 


TOGETHER  WITH 

A  STORY  OF  THE  AUTHOR'S  LIFE 

WRITTEN   BV   HIS   DAUGHTER 


ATLANTA,  GA.: 

FOOTS  Sc  DAVIES  COMPANY 

Printers  and  Binders 

1902 


/v/fyc 


COPYEIGHT,  1902, 

By  LOUISA  C.  HILLYER. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

The  first  fourteen  chapters  of  Part  First  of  this  book 
are  made  up  of  the  "Reminiscences"  written  by  the 
late  Rev.  S.  G.  Hillyer,  for  the  Christian  Index,  and 
pubHshed  between  the  dates  August  13,  1896,  and 
July  29,  1897. 

The  fifteenth  chapter  is  made  up  of  similar  contri- 
butions, written  at  irregular  intervals,  also  for  the 
Index,  and   subsequent  to  the  above  series. 

Part  Second  is  the  story  of  the  author's  life,  written 
by  his  daughter.  He  left  a  brief  outline  of  his  profes- 
sional life,  covering  four  or  five  pages  of  manuscript, 
from  which  several  extracts  are  taken,  nearly  in  his 
own  words.  They  refer  to  the  changes  he  made  from 
one  school  or  pastorate  to  another,  chiefly  during  the 
period  from  1830  to  1845. 

The  "Reminiscences"  were  not  intended  to  give  a 
complete  history  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  Geor- 
gia, or  of  any  individual.  And,  although  they  are  of 
interest  to  many  families  in  the  State  because  of  their 
personal  character,  the  chief  object  of  the  writer 
seemed  to  be  to  cull  from  memory  and  from  reliable 
testimony  of  others  such  incidents  in  the  lives  of  the 
saints  as  might  entertain,  admonish,  or  instruct. 

Louisa  C.  Hillyer. 

Decatur,  Ga.,  July,  1902. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PART  FIRST. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Section  i.   Early     Baptist     Churches    of    Georgia. — 

2.  Daniel  Marshall;   Edmond   Botsford ;   James 
Mathews. —  3.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Mathews     .     .     .         1-13 

CHAPTER  n. 

Section    i.    Convention   of    1829. —  2.    Jesse    Mercer. 

3. —  Adiel  Sherwood. — 4.  James  Shannon    .     .       14-31 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Section  i.  Organization  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention.—  2.  Thomas  Curtis. —  Billington  San- 
ders             32-45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Section    i.    J.    L.    Dagg. —  2.    Mrs.    J.    L.     Dagg. — 

3.  Charles  Mallarj, —  4.  John  E.  Dawson     .      .       46-64 

CHAPTER  V. 

Section  i.  Thomas  Cooper. —  2.  John  B.  Walker       .       65-75 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Section  i.  Trail  Creek  Church. —  2.  Sunbury  Baptist 
Church;  Charles  O.  Screven;  Samuel  S.  Law. 

3.  Sunbury  Baptist  Church  ;  Jacob  Dunham     .       76-91 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Section  i.  Josiah  Spry  Law. —  2.  Jesse  H.  Campbell. — 
3.  Adam  T.  Holmes. —  4.  Oliver  Stevens. — 
5.  Edward  Stevens. —  6.  James  O.  Screven. — 
7.  Carlos  Stevens       92-116 


i 


VI  Table  of  Contents. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Section  i.  Sardis  Church. —  2.  Jeremiah  Reeves. — 
3.  Enoch  Callaway. —  4.  Joshua  Callaway. — 
5.  Pitt  Milner  and  John  Milner. —  6.  James 
Reeves       i 17-140 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Section  i.  N.    M.    Crawford. —  2.  Thomas    Stocks. — 

3.  Alfred  Shorter  and  His  Wife. — 4.  P.  H.  Mell  .  141-160 

CHAPTER  X. 

Section  i.  Thomas  Bacon  Sr.  and  Henry  Holcomb. — 

2.  The  Sons  of  Thomas  Bacon 161-170 

CHAPTER  XI. 

old-time  churches. 

Section  i.  Their  Faith  and  Practice;  Their  Houses 
of  Worship. —  2.  Their  Conferences. —  3.  Their 
Discipline. —  4.  Their  Reception  of  Members. — 
5.  Their  Baptism     .     .     , 171-19 

CHAPTER  XII. 
OLD-TIME  CHURCHES    {Co7itinued) . 

Section  1.  A  Call  to  the  Ministry. —  2.  What  Consti- 
tutes a  Call  to  the  Ministry. —  3.  Ordinations, 
Deacons. —  4.  Ordinations,  Ministers       .     .     .   191-210 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
OLD-TIME  CHURCHES    {Concluded). 

Sbction  I.  Their  Social  Life. —  2.  Their  Public  Wor- 
ship.—  3.  Their  Doctrinal  Views 211-233 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Conclusion  of  the  Reminiscences  published  between 
the  dates  August  13,  1896,  and  July  29,  1897.  [A 
brief  notice  of  many  great  names]    .....   233-34 


Table  of  Contents.  vii 

CHAPTER  XV. 

[Reminiscences  not  included  in  the  foregoing  series.] 
Section  i,   Merrill  P.   Callaway   (March  24,   1898). — 
2.  The   Christian    Index    (published    April   27, 
1899). —  3,  The  Christian  Index  (published  May 
25,  1899) 244-256 


PART  SECOND. 

The  Story  of  Shaler  Granby  Hillyer,  by  His  Daughter, 

Louisa  C.  Hillyer 257-292 


PART  FIRST. 


REMINISCENCES 
OF    GEORGIA    BAPTISTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


SECTION   ONE. 
THE    EARLY    BAPTIST    CHURCHES    OF    GEORGIA. 

The  people  of  Georgia  were  from  their  first  settle- 
ment engaged  for  the  most  part  in  agriculture,  and  for 
that  reason  the  great  majority  of  them  made  their 
homes  in  the  country. 

The  population  of  the  State  in  1820  was  estimated 
at  about  three  hundred  thousand,  exclusive  of  the 
Creek  and  Cherokee  Indians,  who  at  that  time  occu- 
pied a  large  portion  of  the  territory  within  the  limits 
of  Georgia. 

In  the  midst  of  these  country  homes,  scattered  here 
and  there,  were  Baptist  churches.  The  ministers  who 
supplied  them  were  generally  farmers,  like  their 
neighbors.  They  relied  chiefly  upon  the  produce  of 
their  farms  for  the  support  of  their  families.  Let  us 
glance  briefly  at  the  status  of  our  people  at  that 
early  day. 

In  the  rural  settlements  there  was  very  little  oppor- 
tunity for  education.  Outside  of  the  small  towns  that 
were  built  up  around  the  court-houses  in  the  several 
counties,  the  "old-field  school"  was  almost  the  only 
seminary  of  learning  to  which  the  boys  and  girls  of 
the  neighborhood  had  access.     The  curriculum  of  those 

t 


2  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

schools  was  often  no  more  than  Webster's  blue  spell- 
ing-book, Pike's  Arithmetic  or  the  Federal  Calculatoi, 
and  daily  exercises  in  penmanship.  Such  was  the 
education  to  which  the  masses  of  the  country  people 
of  that  day  were,  for  the  most  part,  limited.  And 
of  course  the  members  of  the  churches  were  no  better 
provided  for  than  the  people  generally.  But  they 
learned  to  read,  to  write,  and  to  "cipher."  And  so  far 
as  church  members  were  concerned,  many  of  them 
became  close  readers  of  the  Bible. 

The  Bible  was  to  those  earnest  souls  a  lifetime 
text-book.  They  had  no  better  sense,  in  their  per- 
fect exemption  from  any  influence  of  the  so-called 
"higher  criticism,"  than  to  accept  its  teachings  as 
divine  truth ;  and  it  made  them  wise  unto  salvation. 
They  loved  the  Bible. 

The  early  Baptists  of  Georgia  were  sound  in  the 
faith.  I  can  remember  how  clearly  many  of  those 
plain  people  seemed  to  understand  the  doctrines  of 
grace.  They  believed  that  Jesus  has  a  people,  se- 
cured to  him  by  the  gift  of  the  Father,  whose  sal- 
vation is  assured.  They  believed  in  the  final  preser- 
vation of  the  saints,  in  the  necessity  of  the  new  birth 
accompanied  with  repentance  and  faith,  as  essential 
prerequisites  of  baptism  and  of  church  membership. 
And  they  were  content  with  no  other  baptism  than 
immersion. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  there  v/ere  no  errors  among 
them.  It  is  true  some  did  pervert  the  truth.  They 
endeavored,  without  knoiving  hoiv  to  do  it,  to  push 
some  of  the  truths  which  they  held  to  their  logical  ex- 
tent. The  result  was  the  development,  here  and  there, 
cf  the  spirit  of  antinomianism.     And  it  is  true  this 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  3 

error  did  for  a  time  much  harm.  But  considering  the 
disadvantages  under  which  the  people  Hved  in  the 
early  decades  of  this  century,  it  is  truly  wonderful 
how  Scriptural  was  the  faith  of  the  churches.  They 
may  well  be  regarded  as,  in  a  very  great  degree,  a 
homogeneous  people. 

In  those  days  church  fellowship  had  a  meaning. 
And  because  it  had  a  meaning  it  exerted  a  visible  in- 
fluence upon  the  social  life  of  the  churches.  They 
gave  public  expression  of  their  fellowship  by  calling 
one  another  brother  and  sister.  This  sweet  token  of 
fellowship  has  in  these  latter  days  almost  fallen  into 
disuse.  It  still  lingers  in  gatherings  that  are  strictly 
religious,  and  it  is  heard  also  among  our  preachers ; 
but  it  seems  to  have  become  unfashionable  in  the 
walks  of  social  life.  Of  course  this  is  a  small  matter 
as  a  mode  of  address ;  but  its  omission  may,  never- 
theless, indicate  a  decay  of  Christian  brotherhood. 

Another  mode  of  expressing  their  fellowship  seventy 
years  ago  was  found  in  their  fondness  for  each  other's 
company  and  for  religious  conversation.  When  Chris- 
tians met  at  each  other's  houses  they  talked  about  the 
Bible — its  precious  promises  and  its  great  salvation — 
and  then  of  their  own  experiences.  I  can  recall  many 
a  scene  in  early  life  that  would  illustrate  and  verify 
what  I  have  said.  Christians  did  seem  to  me,  in  my 
boyhood  days — and  long  afterward — to  love  one 
another.  I  tell  you,  reader,  there  was  much  to  admire 
and  to  imitate  in  those  churches  of  your  fathers  and 
your  mothers. 

I  know  they  had  some  queer  notions  and  some  amus- 
ing ways,  at  which,  from  our  standpoint,  we  may  smile. 
I  will  give  you  a  case  in  point. 


4  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

When  Brother  Frank  Callaway  was  called  to  ordina- 
tion, away  back  in  the  twenties,  one  of  the  council 
that  had  met  to  perform  the  service  was  an  old  man. 
He  had  not  yet  adopted  suspenders  as  a  part  of  his 
toilet.  He  clung  to  the  fashions  that  were  in  vogue 
when  he  was  a  young  man,  and  therefore  supported 
his  pants  by  a  band  buttoned  tight  above  his  hips. 
He  no  doubt  regarded  suspenders  as  indicating  a  sinful 
conformity  to  the  world.  Well,  the  ceremony  pro- 
ceeded. Brother  Callaway  stood  his  examination  suc- 
cessfully, and  the  council  were  ready  to  ordain  him. 
But  there  was  one  dissenting  voice — the  old  brother 
above  mentioned.  He  had  somehow  found  out  that 
the  candidate  was  wearing  a  pair  of  suspenders. 
(They  were  called  "gallowses"  in  those  days.)  So 
he  arose  and  said  with  great  solemnity : 

"Brethren,  I  can't  lay  my  hands  upon  them  gal- 
lowses." And  the  other  members  of  the  council  had  to 
proceed  without  him.  Brother  Callaway  was  ordained 
in  spite  of  his  suspenders,  and  lived  for  many  years  a 
humble  but  earnest  worker  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 
And  it  affords  me  pleasure  to  add  that  he  was  one  of 
the  council  which  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry  my 
own  beloved  brother,  Rev.  John  F.  Hillyer,  late  of 
Texas. 

Yes,  we  may  smile  at  the  severe  conservatism  of  the 
old  brother  who  would  not  lay  hands  on  a  pair  of  sus- 
penders. But,  after  all,  let  us  not  forget  that  conserva- 
tism is  often  a  virtue.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  con- 
formity to  the  world  among  our  church  members. 
Nay,  it  may,  if  not  watched,  creep  into  the  forms  of 
our  own  church  services. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  5 

SECTION   TWO. 

DANIEL   MARSHALL — EDMOND   BOTSFORD JAMES 

MATHEWS. 

In  giving  these  reminiscences,  let  me  say,  once  for 
all,  I  shall  not  limit  myself  to  such  things  only  as  I  can 
personally  remember.  I  shall  feel  at  liberty  to  speak 
of  what  I  have  found  in  our  records  or  have  learned 
from  what  I  know  to  be  reliable  tradition. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  limited  advantages  of  education 
which  were  accessible  to  the  people  of  Georgia  a  hun- 
dred years  ago.  The  want  of  these  advantages  our  Bap- 
tist brethren  suffered  in  common  with  their  fellow  cit- 
izens. But  the  Baptists,  I  told  you,  in  spite  of  their 
humble  learning,  with  the  Bible  as  their  only  text- 
book, were  sound  in  the  faith.  I  spoke  also  of  their 
earnest  fellowship  and  how  it  gave  a  charm  to  their 
social  life. 

In  the  year  1771,  Rev.  Daniel  Marshall,  an  ordained 
Baptist  minister,  originally  from  Connecticut,  came 
into  Georgia  and  settled  on  Kiokee  Creek,  in  what  is 
now  Columbia  County.  He  was  not  very  learned,  but 
he  was  a  man  of  excellent  sense,  of  deep  piety,  and  he 
was  a  good  preacher.  He  soon  gathered  the  few  Bap- 
tists in  his  neighborhood  to  his  meetings,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1772  he  organized  them,  with  some  others 
whom  he  had  baptized,  into  a  church,  called  after  the 
name  of  the  creek  near  which  the  meeting-house  was 
built  the  Kiokee  Church.  This  was  the  first  Baptist 
church  ever  organized  in  Georgia. 

In  June,  1771,  six  months  after  Rev.  Daniel  Mar- 
shall settled  near  Kiokee  Creek,  another  missionary 
entered  the  State.     This  was  Mr.  E'dmond  Botsford, 


^6  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

who  was  a  native  of  England.  He  came  into  Georgia, 
however,  from  South  Carolina.  He  was  only  a  li- 
censed preacher.  As  such,  he  had  traveled  and 
preached  quite  acceptably  in  Carolina,  and,  among 
other  places,  at  Euhaw,  a  church  on  the  Carolina  side 
of  the  river  about  twenty-five  miles  below  Augusta. 

On  the  Georgia  side  of  the  Savannah  River  there  was 
a  group  of  Baptists  who  had  associated  into  a  society 
and  had  been  recognized  by  the  Euhaw  Church  as  a 
branch.  These  brethren  invited  the  young  licentiate 
to  come  over  and  preach  for  them.  This  he  did.  The 
brethren  were  so  much  pleased  with  him  that  they  per- 
suaded him  to  remain  with  them  for  at  least  a  year. 
Not  long  afterwards  he  was  ordained  by  the  church  in 
Charleston  and  returned  to  his  Georgia  flock  fully 
clothed  with  the  functions  of  a  Baptist  minister. 

His  people  built  a  log  house  for  their  religious  serv- 
ices, which  was  long  known  as  Botsford's  Meeting- 
house. A  church  was  soon  organized,  certainly  not 
later  than  1773.  It  is  believed  to  have  been  the  sec- 
ond Baptist  church  organized  in  Georgia. 

Marshall  and  Botsford  knew  each  other  and  worked 
harmoniously.  They  were  about  forty-five  miles  apart, 
one  in  Columbia  County  and  the  other  in  Burke.  But 
neither  limited  his  labors  to  one  locality.  They  were 
practically  missionaries.  They  preached  far  and  wide, 
especially  in  middle  and  upper  Georgia,  as  far  as  the 
white  settlements  extended.  In  this  work  they  were 
aided  by  a  few  licensed  preachers. 

Now,  foot  up  the  account.  In  1773,  in  the  Colony 
of  Georgia  we  find  the  Baptist  denomination  repre- 
sented by  two  churches,  two  ordained  ministers,  per- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  7 

haps  half  a  dozen   licensed  preachers,  and  less  than 
two  hundred  Baptists  in  all  the  colony. 

How  stands  the  account  to-day  ? 

Without  aiming  to  be  exact,  for  I  have  not  the  recent 
statistics  before  me,  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  the 
Baptist  denomination  in  Georgia  is  to-day  represented 
by  about  one  thousand  two  hundred  ordained  minis- 
ters, by  one  thousand  six  hundred  organized  churches, 
and,  including  the  colored  people,  by  at  least  three 
hundred  thousand  communicants.  This  is  nearly  one 
fifth  the  population  of  the  Georgia  of  1890. 

To  what  is  this  amazing  growth  to  be  attributed? 

First  of  all,  let  us  gratefully  acknowledge  that  it  was 
due  to  the  spirit  of  Christ  that  was  with  his  people  and 
especially  with  his  ministering  servants.  The  Spirit 
gave  to  the  little  band  of  ministers  above  mentioned 
an  earnest  faith  and  a  self-sacrificing  zeal  in  the  Mas- 
ter's cause.  It  has  already  been  noticed  that  Marshall 
and  Botsford  did  not  confine  themselves  to  one  locality. 
They  preached  throughout  the  country  as  they  could 
find  opportunity  to  do  so.  And  their  successors  fol- 
lowed their  example. 

We  can  not  fail  to  discern  among  our  early  minis- 
ters a  genuine  missionary  spirit.  Perhaps  they  did  not 
know  it,  but  they. were  practically  missionaries.  There 
were  no  societies  or  boards  to  direct  their  movements, 
or  to  provide  for  their  expenses.  They  were  self-ap- 
pointed and  self-sustained.  Indeed,  many  of  their  pais- 
torates  afforded  an  opportunity  for  missionary  work 
only.  This  kind  of  work  may  be  illustrated  by  an  ex- 
ample. 

Some  time  between  the  years  1784  and  1800,  Rev. 


8  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

James  Mathews,  with  his  wife  and  one  little  baby  child 
and  a  young  colored  girl,  was  living  on  a  small  farm 
in  Lincoln  County.  He  was  serving  a  church  in  Burke 
County,  more  than  fifty  miles  from  his  humble  home. 
To  reach  his  appointment  he  had  to  leave  home  on 
Friday  afternoon,  travel  as  far  as  he  could  till  sun- 
down, then  put  up  for  the  night  with  some  humble 
farmer  like  himself.  Right  there  the  traveler  often 
found  an  opportunity  to  speak  a  word  for  Jesus. 
His  kind  host  perhaps  knew  his  guest  to  be  a  minister. 
If  so,  courtesy,  if  no  higher  feeling,  would  prompt 
him  to  ask  his  guest  to  conduct  family  worship.  In 
such  cases  the  preacher  had  his  opportunity.  His  love 
of  souls  would  find  its  gratification  in  a  few  words  of 
instruction  and  exhortation ;  and  thus  he  would  be- 
come a  messenger  of  mercy  to  the  household.  Brother 
Mathews  knew  how  to  improve  such  an  opportunity. 

But  at  sunrise  he  must  be  in  the  saddle,  for  he  has 
yet  many  miles  to  travel  before  he  can  reach  his 
church.  He  preaches  on  Saturday  and  holds  confer- 
ence. On  Sunday  he  preaches  to  a  large  congregation 
gathered  from  the  neighborhood.  Many  of  them 
perhaps  have  come  ten  miles  to  attend  his  meetings. 
What  is  he  but  a  missionary,  sent  of  God,  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  destitute? 

But  what  of  the  dear  wife  and  little  baby  who  were 
left  in  the  sparsely  settled  wilds  of  Lincoln  County? 
There  was  the  young  mother  in  her  log-built  home, 
with  no  near  neighbors  and,  besides  the  baby,  with  no 
companion  but  the  colored  girl  above  mentioned.  How 
must  she  have  felt  as  night  drew  on  ?  Well,  she  barred 
her  door  as  best  she  could  and  committed  her  little 
household  to  God's  kind  care.     The  wolves  howled 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  9 

around  her  cabin ;  she  could  fancy  they  were  coming 
into  the  yard.  Such  were  the  trials  to  which  that 
good  woman  was  subjected  when  her  husband  was  out 
on  his  missionary  excursions.  How  could  she  endure 
such  trials? 


SECTION  THREE. 
MRS.    REBECCA    MATHEWS. 

In  1838  or  1839,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
Mrs.  Mathews  in  Penfield.  She  was  then  in  her 
eightieth  year.  We  had  a  long  and,  to  me,  a  delight- 
ful interview.  She  spoke  of  her  early  experiences, 
and  especially  of  the  trials  above  alluded  to,  and  how 
she  was  enabled  to  bear  them.  She  said,  in  substance, 
that  at  first,  and  for  a  considerable  time,  she  felt  very 
much  dissatisfied  with  her  condition.  She  thought  her 
lot  a  hard  one  and  murmured  in  her  heart  against  it, 
feeling  that  it  was  not  right  for  her  to  be  left  so  much 
alone. 

After  a  while  it  came  to  pass  that  her  husband  had 
an  appointment  about  eight  or  ten  miles  from  home, 
and  it  was  arranged  on  that  occasion  that  she  should 
go  with  him  to  his  meeting.  The  little  one-horse  farm 
wagon  was  fixed  up  for  the  occasion,  and  thus  she 
was  enabled  to  accompany  her  husband,  a  privilege 
which  she  perhaps  had  not  before  enjoyed.  They 
reached  the  meeting-house  safely. 

The  meeting  proved  to  be  one  of  great  interest. 
Mr.  Mathews  preached  with  his  usual  fervor  and  the 
Spirit  seemed  to  move  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The 
good  lady  looked  on  with  wonder  and  delight.  Her 
own   religious   feelings   were   deeply   stirred.     A   re- 


lo  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

freshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  had  descended 
upon  the  people.  The  meeting  closed  with  songs  of 
praise,  accompanied  with  tears  of  holy  joy,  and  a 
handshaking  that  evinced  the  flow  of  Christian  love 
and  fraternal  fellowship. 

Such  a  scene  Mrs.  Mathews  had  never  witnessed. 
Its  effect  upon  her  was  to  sweep  away  her  discontent 
and  all  her  murmurs.  She  returned  to  her  humble 
home  happy  in  the  love  of  Jesus  and  glad  that  her 
husband  was  a  preacher.  At  this  point  in  her  story, 
the  dear  old  lady  said  to  me,  "From  that  hour  I  re- 
solved to  do'  all  I  could  to  promote  my  husband's 
work  and  to  complain  of  my  lot  no  more."  And  faith- 
fully she  kept  her  vow.  She  lived  with  her  husband 
nearly  half  a  century,  and  during  those  many  years, 
till  her  sons  were  old  enough  to  take  her  place,  she, 
during  her  husband's  absence,  was  the  chief  manager 
of  things  at  home,  and  no  murmur  ever  again  escaped 
her  lips. 

But  Mrs.  Mathews  was  only  one  of  a  class  of  wo- 
men who  lived  in  those  early  days  to  help  their  hus- 
bands to  do  the  Master's  work.  If  we  could  know 
their  history  we  should  find  there  were  other  wives 
who  had  to  endure  seclusion,  toil,  and  self-denial  that 
their  husbands  might  prosecute  their  itinerant  labors 
far  and  wide  through  our  sparsely  settled  country.  We 
shall  never  know  till  we  get  to  heaven  how  much  we 
owe  to  those  mothers  in  Israel  for  the  growth  of  our 
denomination. 

A  word  more  about  Brother  Mathews.  He  lived  to 
be  very  old.  He  continued  to  preach  almost  to  the 
end  of  his  life.  During  the  last  several  years  of  his 
labor,  he  had  become  so  feeble  that  it  was  deemed  un- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  1 1 

safe  for  him  to  travel  alone.  He  had  become  subject 
to  frequent  attacks  of  vertigo.  They  v^^ould  come 
upon  him  without  warning  at  any  time  and  in  any 
place.  And  yet  he  would  try  to  fill  his  appointments. 
During  this  period,  his  daughter  Rebecca  would  ac- 
company her  father  to  all  his  meetings,  that  she  might 
be  at  hand  to  take  care  of  him  in  case  the  vertigo 
should  attack  him.  It  happened  once  at  any  rate,  and, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  more  than  once,  that  the  attack 
came  upon  him  while  in  his  gig  on  the  highway.  On 
such  occasions,  his  daughter  would  assist  him  to 
the  ground  and  lead  him  to  the  roadside  and  lay  him 
down  upon  the  leaves  and  watch  by  him  till  the  fit 
passed  _  off.  What  an  example  have  we  here  of  a 
daughter's  faithful  love ! 

"Some  feelings  are  to  mortals  given, 
With    less    of    earth    in    them    than    heaven ; 
And  if  there  be  a  human  tear 
From  passion's  dross  refined  and  clear, 
A  tear  so  limpid  and  so  meek,   . 
It  would  not  stain  an  angel's  cheek, 
'Tis  that  which  pious  fathers  shed 
Upon  a  duteous  daughter's  head !" 

Such  a  daughter  was  Rebecca  Mathews. 

Brother  Mathews  died  about  1827  or  1828.  He  was 
the  father  of  eight  children — five  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Two  of  his  sons,  Philip  and  James,  were 
Baptist  ministers.  They  lived  to  do  much  work 
in  the  Master's  vineyard.  But  they  and  their  broth- 
ers and  sisters  have  all  passed  away.  Their  descend- 
ants, however,  may  be  found  in  different  parts  of 
the   State      Brother  Aquilla   Mathews  of  Atlanta,   is 


12  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

now  (1896),  I  believe,  the  oldest  living  grandson  of  the 
venerable  preacher. 

In  reading  these  reminiscences,  many  will  be  con- 
tent if  they  find  in  them  entertaining  stories.  My  dear 
brethren  and  sisters,  the  incidents  themselves  are  of 
very  small  importance.  I  hope  they  may  prove  inter- 
esting to  you,  but  don't  forget  that  their  chief  value 
must  be  looked  for  in  the  lessons  which  they  teach. 

We  profess  to  have  the  same  religion  that  cheered 
the  hearts  and  inflamed  the  zeal  of  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  our  Baptist  people.  And  it  is  the  religion 
that  can  be  traced  back  through  nearly  nineteen  cen- 
turies to  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

This  religion  began  to  be  corrupted  very  soon.  Even 
the  Apostles  found  it  necessary  to  warn  the  churches 
against  heretics  and  anti-Christs.  As  time  passed  on, 
the  heresies  increased  till  at  length  were  developed  the 
mighty  hierarchies  of  the  Eastern  and  Western 
churches — one  having  its  head  at  Constantinople,  and 
the  other  at  Rome. 

But  in  spite  of  these  colossal  powers,  there  were  lo- 
cal churches  here  and  there  throughout  Europe  who 
would  not  submit  to  the  supremacy  of  either.  Many 
of  these  held  to  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 
Their  history  is  written  in  fire  and  blood.  They  con- 
tended for  an  open  Bible,  for  soul-liberty  and  for  the 
independence  of  the  churches.  They  repudiated  the 
union  of  Church  and  State  and  denied  the  usurped 
authority  of  bishops  and  prelates.  Moreover,  they  de- 
nied the  doctrines  of  baptismal  regeneration,  of  sacra- 
mental grace  and  of  priestly  absolution.  I  can  not 
mention  every  item  of  faith  that  separated  them  from 
the  Greek  and  Latin  churches.     It  must  suffice  to  say 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  13 

that  in  those  dissenting  and  independent  bodies  of 
Christians,  we  can  find  the  sentiments  which  to-day 
distinguish  the  Baptist  denomination. 

I  have  alluded  to  these  facts  that  we  may  more 
justly  appreciate  the  self-denying  labors  of  our  own 
Baptist  fathers  in  the  State  of  Georgia.  Animated  by 
their  example,  let  us  consider  whether  we  are  doing 
our  duty  as  their  successors.  True,  we  have  grown 
from  two  ordained  ministers  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
communicants  to  more  than  a  thousand  ministers  and 
three  hundred  thousand  communicants ;  but  is  the  work 
finished  ?  Have  we  won  the  victory  ?  Remember, 
while  our  churches  have  multiplied,  and  our  member- 
ship has  grown  to  a  vast  multitude,  our  State  popula- 
tion has  increased  in  equal  if  not  in  a  larger  propor- 
tion. I  think  Brother  Gibson's  statistics  would  show 
that  there  are  still  many  thousands  of  people  in  Geor- 
gia who  seldom  hear  a  gospel  sermon.  No,  the  vic- 
tory is  not  won.  Oh,  our  people  need  to  feel  more 
deeply  the  claims  of  Christ  upon  them  for  their  money 
and  time,  as  well  as  for  their  prayers ! 


CHAPTER  II. 


SECTION  ONE, 
CONVENTION    OF    1 829. 

In  1829  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  met  in  Mil- 
ledgeville.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  present  on 
that  occasion,  not,  however,  as  a  delegate ;  for  I  was 
not  then  even  a  church  member.  Nevertheless  it  has 
ever  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to  me  that  I  had  the 
opportunity  of  being  near  that  Convention — so  signal- 
ized in  the  history  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

I  was,  with  many  others,  the  guest  of  Doctor  Boy- 
kin,  the  father  of  Rev.  Samuel  Boykin  and  his 
brother.  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Boykin.  In  Doctor  Boykin's 
house  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  some  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  Convention  and  hearing  them  talk-.  Doctor 
Sherwood  and  Doctor  Mercer  were  there.  These  I 
had  known  before.  In  their  tours  of  preaching 
through  the  State  they  had  sometimes  been  enter- 
tained at  our  humble  home.  Another  distinguished 
man  whom  I  met  was  Rev.  James  Shannon,  at  that 
time  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Augusta. 

With  the  exception  of  these  three,  I  knew  person- 
ally only  four  or  five  of  the  delegates  present. 

The  Convention  held  its  sessions  in  the  State  Ar- 
senal, while  preaching  was  provided  for  every  morn- 
ing and  night.  By  the  courtesy  of  the  Methodist  breth- 
ren, these  services  were  held  in  their  meeting-house, 
because  it  could  accommodate  a  larger  audience  than 
the  Baptist  house.  And  it  was  also  convenient  to  the 
place  where  the  Convention  had  to  meet.     The  con- 

14 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  15 

gregations  were  very  large  and  the  preaching  was  ex- 
cellent. Mr.  Shannon  and  Mr.  H.  O.  Wyer,  from  Sa- 
vannah, especially,  made  a  profound  impression  upon 
the  people.  It  was  difiliciilt  to  say  which  of  them  was 
the  greater. 

The  matter  which  most  deeply  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  Convention  was  the  Penfield  legacy.  The  his- 
tory of  this  legacy  is  given  so  fully  in  our  records  that 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  repeat  it  here.  Nevertheless, 
for  the  sake  of  many  who  may  not  have  had  access  to 
the  records  it  may  be  useful  to  state  briefly  the  facts. 

Deacon  Josiah  Penfield,  of  Savannah,  had  recently 
died.  In  his  will  he  had  bequeathed  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  to  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention,  to  be 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  ministerial  education  among 
our  young  men  in  Georgia,  on  condition  that  the 
Convention  would  raise  an  equal  sum  to  be  added  to 
it  for  the  same  purpose. 

To  meet  this  condition  and  thus  to  secure  the  legacy 
was  the  problem  that  confronted  the  Convention  of 
1829.  And  nobly  did  they  meet  it.  But  there  is  a 
small  inaccuracy  in  the  account  of  this  case,  as  given 
in  the  "History  of  Georgia  Baptists,"  compiled  for  the 
Index  in  1881,  which  deserves  to  be  noticed. 

In  that  account  we  are  told  how  the  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  were  raised.  It  gives  twenty-six  names 
with  the  amount  subscribed  by  each  one.  But  when  we 
add  up  the  several  subscriptions  as  given,  the  aggre- 
gate is  only  twenty-four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  in- 
stead of  twenty-five  hundred — the  sum  required  to  se- 
cure the  legacy.  The  question  at  once  occurs :  Whence 
came  the  other  fifty  dollars  ?  I  think  I  can  answer  that 
question. 


i6  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Though  not  a  member  of  the  Convention,  yet  I  was 
in  the  midst  of  many  Baptists,  all  of  whom  were  inter- 
ested in  what  was  going-  on  at  the  Arsenal.  Hence  I 
learned  some  things  about  the  doings  of  the  Conven- 
tion from  the  conversation  of  those  around  me.  I 
think  it  was  near  the  close  of  the  Convention  when 
some  one  in  the  parlor,  at  Doctor  Boykin's  house,  an- 
nounced to  the  company  that  Mr.*  Mercer  had  saved 
the  Penfield  legacy.  The  parties  present  were  evi- 
dently much  pleased. 

As  I  understand  the  case  it  was  about  this  way :  The 
committee  appointed  to  see  what  could  be  done  towards 
raising  the  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  after  as  thor- 
ough a  canvass  as  they  thought  it  worth  while  to 
make,  reported  the  subscriptions.  When  added  up, 
however,  it  was  found  that  the  aggregate  fell  below 
the  required  amount.  What  was  to  be  done?  There 
were  perhaps  a  few  moments  of  disappointment. 
Brother  Mercer,  however,  relieved  the  situation  by  ad- 
ding to  his  subscription  the  whole  of  the  deficit,  and 
thus  completed  the  required  amount. 

The  above  is  the  version  of  the  story  which  I  have 
all  these  years  held  to  be  the  correct  one.  I  have  often 
spoken  of  it  to  groups  of  brethren,  and  I  have  never 
heard  it  disputed.  I  am  persuaded,  therefore,  that  it 
is  substantially  correct.  And  if  so,  it  is  certainly  due 
to  the  memory  of  Doctor  Mercer  that  it  should  not  be 
forgotten. 

There  were  twenty-six  subscribers,  it  seems,  to  that 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  This  gives  an  average  of 
a  little  over  ninety-six  dollars  to  each  one.     That  was 

♦Note.— Dr.  Campbell  says  that  the  degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  upon 
Mr.  Mercer  by  Brown  University;  but  his  intimate  friends  seldom  used 
the  title,  knowing  it  would  not  be  agreeable.  Thus  it  is  naturally  dropped 
when  he  is  spoken  of  in  a  familiar  way.  For  similar  reasons  the  title  Is 
sometimes  omitted,  in  this  work,  in  the  case  of  other  brethren. — Editor. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  17 

a  liberal  subscription  for  only  twenty-six  people  to 
make.  And  great  has  been  the  result  of  that  day's  work 
in  the  Convention  of  1829. 

That  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  secured  the  Pen- 
field  legacy.  Every  man's  dollar  was  worth  two ;  for 
when  the  legacy  and  the  subscriptions  were  united,  the 
Convention  had  in  hand  a  fund  of  five  thousand  dol- 
lars devoted  to  the  education  of  ministers.  That  five 
thousand  dollars  was  a  God-given  boon  to  the  Bap- 
tists of  Georgia.  It  quickened  into  some  degree  of  life 
the  zeal  of  our  people  for  the  improvement  and  eleva- 
tion of  our  ministry.  Like  a  seed  dropped  into  good 
ground,  that  fund  began  to  grow,  and  is  still  grow- 
ing— slowly,  it  may  be,  but  it  is  still  growing — and  we 
hope  ere  long  to  see  it  expand  into  a  magnificent  en- 
dowment for  Mercer  University. 

But  let  us  never  forget  that  the  first  design  of  the 
fund  of  1829  was  to  promote  ministerial  education. 
This  design  is  the  glory  of  our  beloved  University. 
In  spite  of  its  limited  resources,  during  the  first  forty- 
one  years  of  its  life,  counting  from  1833,  it  educated 
a  hundred  and  twenty  preachers.  If  to  these  be  added 
those  who  have  been  educated  in  like  manner  during 
the  succeeding  twenty-two  years,  the  number  would 
probably  reach  nearly  two  hundred.  Such  are  some 
of  the  fruits  of  that  little  seed  that  was  planted  in 
1829. 

Now,  brethren,  the  object  of  these  reminiscences  is 
not  merely  to  gratify  our  sentimental  feelings  for 
things  that  are  passed,  but  it  should  be  to  gather,  from 
the  example  of  our  fathers,  fuel  to  kindle  our  zeal,  in 
the  same  great  work,  up  to  flaming  enthusiasm.  That 
fund  which  Penfield  started,  as  I  have  already  said,  has 
been   growing;  but,   compared   with  the   sublime  end 


i8  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

we  have  in  view,  it  is  still  far  short  of  what  is  needed. 
Mercer  University  was  consecrated  by  its  founders  to 
the  glory  of  our  great  Redeemer,  and  she  is  now 
stretching  out  her  hands  imploringly  to  every  Baptist 
in  Georgia  for  help  to  accomplish  that  glory.  She  is 
asking  you,  now,  for  only  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. This  would  be  only  one  dollar  apiece  for  one 
hundred  thousand  Baptists.  Only  see  how  easily  the 
sum  might  be  raised. 


SECTION  TWO. 
JESSE   MERCER. 

My  recollections  of  Doctor  Mercer  reach  back  to  my 
early  boyhood.  His  name  was  a  household  word  in 
our  home,  and  he  was  well  acquainted  with  my  parents 
long  before  I  was  capable  of  knowing  his  worth  or 
appreciating  his  character.  Nevertheless,  the  way  in 
which  I  heard  him  spoken  of  by  the  older  people  im- 
pressed me  very  deeply — I  thought  of  him  as  somehow 
superior  to  the  common  order  of  men. 

I  can  distinctly  remember  my  feelings  the  first  time 
I  heard  him  preach.  I  was  still  a  young  boy,  but  old 
enough  to  know  that  I  had  no  religion,  and  my  carnal 
heart  made  me  really  somewhat  afraid  to  hear  Mr. 
Mercer  preach.  So  I  quietly  concluded  that  I  would 
not  attend  his  appointment.  But  when  the  day  came 
and  the  other  members  of  the  family  were  getting 
ready  to  start  to  the  meeting,  my  mother  said  to  me, 
as  if  she  suspected  my  intention,  ^'Granby,  I  want  you 
to  go  with  us  to  hear  Mr.  Mercer  to-day."  I  replied 
that  T  preferred  to  stay  at  home.  She  seemed  a  little 
perplexed,  and  giving  me  a  searching  look,  as  if  she 
would  read  mv  thoughts,  she  said,  *T  know  the  reason 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  19 

you  do  not  wish  to  go.  You  are  afraid  you  will  be 
converted."  It  was  a  home  thrust.  I  parried  it  as  well 
as  I  could,  rather  awkwardly  I  confess ;  but  in  com- 
pliance with  her  wishes  I  went  with  the  family  to  hear 
Mr.  Mercer — the  man  whom  I  had  almost  dreaded. 
Well,  I  heard  the  sermon,  but  I  was  not  converted,  for 
my  foolish  heart  was  darkened.  His  sermon,  I  sup- 
pose, was  what  his  pious  auditors  expected  it  to  be,  but 
my  state  of  mind  rendered  me  incapable  of  appreciating 
it.  Little  did  I  then  think  that  the  time  would  come 
when  I  should  sit  without  fear  or  dread  and  listen  to 
him  with  delight  as  he  expounded  the  riches  of  Divine 
grace  through  the  crucified  Redeemer.  Thanks  be  to 
God,  through  that  grace,  such  a  time  did  come. 

Doctor  Mercer's  preaching  was  sometimes  exposi- 
tory, sometimes  argumentative,  but  always  instructive. 
His  style  was  remarkably  simple,  but  clear  and  forcible. 
His  thoughts  were  rich  and  glowing,  so  that  they 
seemed  to  lift  his  simple  diction  up  to  the  realm  of 
sublimity,  evinced  by  the  rapt  attention  of  his  hearers 
and  the  abiding  effect  of  his  discourses. 

I  witnessed  a  scene  that  would  illustrate  the  sketch 
just  given  if  I  could  only  describe  it.  It  was  in  1836, 
in  the  town  of  Forsyth.  There  had  gathered  a  large 
number  of  Baptist  ministers,  for  the  purpose  of  trying 
to  bring  about  a  better  feeling  between  the  missionary 
and  anti-missionary  Baptists.  Brother  Mercer  was  the 
moderator  of  that  meeting.  In  order  to  convince  the 
anti  brethren  that  they  misunderstood  the  views  of  mis- 
sionary Baptists,  a  free  discussion  of  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  especially  the  doctrine  of  election,  was  allowed. 
Several  speakers  took  part  in  the  discussion.  The 
interest  in  it  was  extreme.    At  length  Doctor  Mercer 

8 


20  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

was  called  on  to  give  his  views.  Leaving  the  modera- 
tor's chair  he  walked  down  the  aisle  a  few  steps,  that 
he  might  be  in  the  midst  of  his  hearers,  and  began 
to  talk.    His  theme  was  God's  electing  love. 

I  was  then  but  a  stripling  in  the  ministry.  My  the- 
ology was  in  its  formative  state.  I  had  quietly  ac- 
cepted the  doctrine  of  election,  because  it  seemed  to  be 
taught  in  the  Scriptures,  but  it  had  given  me  some 
trouble.  I  therefore  paid  profound  attention.  I  can 
not,  at  this  late  day,  give  an  analysis  of  his  discourse, 
but  his  argument  developed  this  conclusion :  That  the 
human  heart  being  as  it  is — at  enmity  with  God  and 
dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  no  sinner  without  elect- 
ing grace  would  ever  accept  the  gospel.  As  he  reached 
this  conclusion  the  venerable  speaker  was  deeply 
afifected.  Looking  up  for  a  moment  he  said  with  much 
emotion,  "This  is  all  my  hope !"  and  burst  into  tears. 
The  efifect  was  electrical,  people  all  about  the  house 
were   wiping  their   eyes. 

The  effect  upon  myself  was  wonderful.  All  my 
trouble  about  the  doctrine  of  election  was  relieved. 
Not  that  I  was  able  to  comprehend  it  in  all  its  depths, 
but  I  was  able  to  see  that,  human  nature  being  as  it 
is,  electing  love  mitst  be,  if  any  are  saved,  an  essen- 
tial element  in  the  great  scheme  of  human  salvation. 
True,  in  the  application  of  this  electing  grace  are  mys- 
teries which  we  can  not  now  explain.  Why  the  great 
Father  should  choose  some,  and  not  all,  or  why  he 
should  choose  one,  and  not  another,  we  know  not ;  but 
we  do  know  that  he  is  infinitely  wise  and  good,  and 
therefore  with  profound  confidence  in  his  perfect  recti- 
tude, we  can  say  from  our  hearts,  "Even  so,  Father: 
for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight." 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  21 

Doctor  Mercer's  social  qualities  were  such  as  to 
make  him  a  most  interesting  conversationalist.  Though 
strong  in  his  will  and  firm  in  his  purpose,  yet  he  was 
never  overbearing  or  abrupt  in  his  speech,  but  always 
gentle  and  respectful  to  those  around  him.  He  sat 
among  them  as  if  he  were  one  of  them,  apparently  un- 
conscious of  his  influence  over  'his  associates,  who  were 
willing  to  be  silent  that  they  might  hear  him  talk. 

In  this  connection  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  men- 
tion an  interview  which  I  had  with  Brother  Mercer 
only  a  few  years  before  his  death.  It  was  in  Macon. 
A  meeting  was  in  progress  or  had  just  closed.  It  hap- 
pened that  I  and  two  or  three  others  met  Brother 
Mercer  at  the  house  where  we  dined.  In  the  after- 
noon a  little  circle  was  gathered  on  the  veranda,  with 
him  as  the  center  of  it.  I  wish  I  could  report  all  the 
words  that  fell  from  his  lips  on  that  occasion,  but  that 
is  impossible  at  this  late  day.  I  remember,  however, 
his  telling  us  an  incident  in  his  own  experience,  many 
years  before,  when  he  was  on  a  preaching  tour  through 
the  destitute  regions  of  Northeast  Georgia. 

It  was  usual  in  those  days  for  two  ministers  to  go 
together  on  such  excursions.  Brother  Mercer  had 
with  him  on  the  occasion  referred  to  Rev.  Thomas 
Rhodes,  who  was  an  able  preacher  and  at  that  time 
very  popular. 

One  of  their  appointments  was  far  up  among  the 
mountains.  They  knew  not  the  place,  nor  did  they 
know  the  people.  Their  aim  was  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  those  who  were  almost  destitute  of  it.  When  they 
reached  the  place  they  found  no  meeting-house — it  was 
literally  in  the  wood.  But  the  people  had  made  prep- 
arations for  them  as  well  as  they  could.     They  had 


22  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

cleaned  a  large  space  by  removing  the  underbrush  and 
cutting  off  such  lower  branches  of  the  trees  as  were  in 
the  way.  Rough  seats,  made  chiefly  of  logs,  were  also 
provided,  and  last  of  all  they  had  prepared  a  neat  stand 
for  the  preacher.  This  was  covered  over  with  boards 
so  that  the  preachers,  at  least,  might  be  sheltered. 
These  facts  indicate  that  there  were,  around  that  far- 
off  mountain,  some  who  were  eager  to  hear  the  gos- 
pel. And  accordingly  that  grove  was  filled  with  a 
large  congregation. 

The  preachers  took  their  places  on  the  stand.  But 
as  they  looked  out  beyond  the  audience  they  discovered 
a  dark  and  angry  cloud  rising  high  above  the  horizon. 
The  people  sat  looking  towards  the  stand.  The  cloud 
was  behind  them.  They  seemed  not  to  have  noticed  it. 
After  a  brief  consultation,  the  preachers  agreed  to 
leave  it  to  the  people  whether  they  would  prefer  to 
risk  the  rain  and  hear  the  preaching  or  give  up  the 
preaching  and  seek  shelter  in  the  nearest  houses. 
They  said  if  the  preachers  were  willing,  they  preferred 
to  risk  the  storm  and  have  the  preaching. 

Accordingly  the  services  were  opened.  On  such  oc- 
casions both  ministers  were  expected  to  preach;  "and,'' 
said  Brother  Mercer  to  the  little  circle  in  the  veranda, 
"at  that  time  we  were  both  long  winded."  So  a  two 
hours'  service,  at  least,  was  before  them.  The  leading 
brother  had  hardly  gotten  fairly  under  way  when  the 
rain  began.  It  came  down  in  a  steady,  copious,  pro- 
tracted shower.  But  there  was  no  confusion  in  the 
audience.  When  thoroughly  drenched,  they  rose 
quietly  to  their  feet  and  stood  with  outstretched  necks 
and  with  their  eyes  fixed  upon  the  speaker.  The  clouds 
at  length  passed  over,  and  the  meeting  was  closed.    It 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  23 

was  but  a  part  of  that  itinerant  labor  which  in  the 
early  decades  of  the  century  filled  Northeast  Geor^a 
with  Baptist  churches. 

SECTION  THREE. 
ADIEL    SHERWOOD. 

I  saw  Doctor  Sherwood  first  at  our  home,  but  I  was 
too  young  to  know  who  or  what  he  was.  I  only  learned 
that  he  was  a  preacher  and  that  his  name  was  Sher- 
wood. He  was  then  a  stranger  in  Georgia.  He  was 
a  native  of  Vermont,  a  graduate  of  Middleburg  Col- 
lege and  also  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover. 

It  was  with  such  preparation  that  Doctor  Sherwood 
entered  upon  his  work  in  Georgia.  He  gave  to  our 
State  the  best  part  of  a  long  life.  The  history  of  that 
life  is  on  record.  And  a  more  instructive  and  useful 
history  for  Georgia  Baptists  can  hardly  be  found. 

It  was  about  1824  that  Doctor  Sherwood  was  a 
second  time  a  guest  at  my  mother's  home.  I  was  then 
old  enough  to  know  him  and  in  some  small  measure 
to  appreciate  him.  It  was  easy  enough  to  see  that  my 
mother  and  grandmother  (our  father  had  passed  away) 
were  deeply  interested  in  his  conversation.  He  was 
decidedly  the  most  learned  Baptist  preacher  they  had 
ever  known ;  yet,  though  so  far  above  them  in  learning, 
they  discovered  that  in  the  realm  of  experimental  re- 
ligion he  spoke  a  language  which  they  well  understood. 
And  if  he  spoke  of  the  need  of  missionary  work  among 
the  Indians  upon  our  borders,  or  among  the  distant 
heathen  where  Judson  was,  his  words  found  a  ready 
echo  from  their  hearts. 

Nor  was  he  unmindful  of  my  mother's  sons.  I  was 
then  about  fifteen  years  old.     I  remember  he  took  oc- 


24  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

casion  to  address  a  few  words  to  me.  He  asked  me 
what  I  was  reading  in  Latin.  I  told  him  I  was  reading 
Virgil.  And,  looking  at  me  with  a  pleasant  smile,  he 
said:  "And  where  did  you  first  find  Tityrus?"  I  re- 
plied :  ''I  found  him  reclining  under  the  shade  of  a 
beech-tree."  The  answer  seemed  to  please  him,  and  I 
felt  gratified  by  his  attention. 

At  the  same  time,  or  in  a  subsequent  interview,  my 
brother  Junius  had  a  similar  experience.  My  brother 
was  two  years  older  than  I,  and  of  course  more  ad- 
vanced in  his  work.  Doctor  Sherwood  drew  him  out 
as  to  his  studies.  The  conversation  culminated  in  my 
brother's  reading  to  him  a  composition  he  had  just  fin- 
ished. The  good  doctor  was  evidently  pleased  with 
the  youthful  effort.  Yet  with  a  gentleness  almost 
parental,  he  criticized  the  diction  in  two  or  three  sen- 
tences and  suggested  amendments.  My  brother  at 
once  and  with  pleasure  accepted  his  suggestions,  and 
afterwards  gave  evidence  of  his  gratification  in  having 
Doctor  Sherwood  to  criticize  his  composition. 

Such  incidents  as  just  given  may  appear  to  some 
readers  too  trifling  to  deserve  remembrance;  but  sim- 
ple as  they  are,  they  teach  us  a  valuable  lesson.  In 
just  such  incidents  we  learn  how  Doctor  Sherwood 
was  able,  perhaps  unconsciously  to  himself,  to  work  his 
way  into  the  affections  of  the  families  which  he  vis- 
ited. 

Let  me  give  you  another  simple  story.  It  was 
given  to  me  by  one  who  claimed  to  know  the  facts. 

On  one  occasion  Brother  Sherwood  was  riding 
through  a  rural  district.  His  road  led  him  by  a 
house  where  dwelt  a  family  with  which  he  was  well 
acquainted.     He  concluded  to  drop  in  and  greet  the 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  25 

household.  He  found,  however,  that  the  husband  and 
father  of  the  family  was  out  in  the  fields  superintend- 
ing his  work.  The  time  was  too  short  to  make  it  worth 
while  to  send  for  him.  So  the  visit  was  limited  to  the 
members  of  the  family  who  were  present. 

The  lady  of  the  house  was  deeply  pious  and  greatly 
concerned  about  her  husband,  who  was  not  a  member 
of  the  church  and  seemed  to  be  unconcerned  about  his 
salvation.  Brother  Sherwood  understood  the  situation. 
The  case  seemed  to  touch  his  heart,  for  just  before  he 
left  he  made  prayer  with  the  family.  A  part  of  it  was 
an  earnest  and  feeling  supplication  in  behalf  of  the  un- 
converted husband.  He  then  took  leave  of  all  present 
and  went  on  his  way. 

About  twilight  the  husband  came  in  from  the  field. 
His  wife  met  him  and  told  him  of  Doctor  Sherwood's 
visit  and  of  the  earnest  prayer  which  he  had  made 
for  the  salvation  of  the  husband.  What  reply  he  made 
I  can  not  now  report;  but  it  came  to  pass,  in  a  few 
weeks,  that  this  man  presented  himself  to  the  Baptist 
church  in  his  neighborhood  as  a  candidate  for  bap- 
tism. 

As  he  told  his  experience  it  was  made  to  appear 
that  on  the  day  oi  Brother  Sherwood's  visit,  and,  as 
near  as  could  be  ascertained,  about  the  same  hour,  he 
was  resting  for  a  little  while  under  the  shade  of  a 
tree  that  happened  to  be  in  the  field.  While  musing 
there,  suddenly,  he  knew  not  why  or  how,  the  thought 
of  his  ungodly  life  occurred  to  him.  It  came  with 
such  power  that  he  could  not  shake  it  ofif.  He  felt  that 
he  was  a  sinner.  When  he  met  his  wife  in  the  evening 
and  heard  the  story  of  Doctor  Sherwood's  visit  and  of 
his  earnest  prayer  for  him,  his  religious  feelings  were 


26  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

greatly  intensified.  He  soug-ht  the  Lord,  and  in  a  few 
days,  in  the  quiet  of  his  own  home,  he  was  enabled  to 
rejoice  in  the  hope  of  heaven.  Brother  Sherwood's 
prayer  was  answered.  And  his  example  illustrates  the 
worth  of  pastoral  visiting. 

I  could  fill  pages  with  such  incidents  as  the  forego- 
ing in  his  life.  They  reveal  to  us  what  may  be 
called  the  private  and  for  the  most  part,  the  unseen 
labors  of  this  godly  man  among  his  brethren,  in  which 
his  sole  aim  was  to  leave  a  blessing  behind  him  in  ev- 
ery household. 

I  will  now  relate  an  incident  of  a  more  public  kind. 
It  occurred  at  the  ministers'  meeting  at  Forsyth  in 
1836,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken. 

Among  the  resolutions  presented  to  that  body  was 
one  designed,  if  possible,  to  promote  reconciliation  and 
fellowship  among  the  brethren.  In  the  heat  of  con- 
troversy about  missions,  hard  words  had  been  spoken, 
and  bad  feelings,  here  and  there,  had  been  excited. 
The  resolution  alluded  to  these  facts  in  terms  of  re- 
gret, and  proposed  that  all  should  forgive,  and  seek  to 
be  forgiven,  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  way  that  Jesus  had 
pointed  out.  Such,  I  think,  was  about  the  meaning  of 
the  resolution.  It  was  passed  and  if  my  memory  is 
not  at  fault,  without  a  dissenting  voice. 

It  was  then  that  Brother  Sherwood,  standing  in 
front  of  the  audience,  said :  "Brother  Moderator,  I 
propose  that  we  begin  right  now,  and  here,  to  comply 
with  the  terms  of  this  resolution ;  and  I  am  willing  to 
be  the  first  to  do  it.  I  know  there  have  been  hard  feel- 
ings between  a  brother  who  sits  before  me  [calling 
his  name]  and  myself.  If  I  ever  hurt  his  feelings,  I 
am  sorry  for  it,  and  I  ask  his  forgiveness  and  am 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  27 

willing-  to  give  him  my  hand."  The  brother  alluded  to 
rose  promptly,  and  coming  forward,  grasped  the  ex- 
tended hand,  and  the  bond  of  fellowship  was  restored. 
It  was  a  scene  which  angels  might  rejoice  to  behold, 
and  it  was  an  example  which  all  would  do  well  to 
follow. 

To  strangers  Doctor  Sherwood  had  the  appearance 
of  being  stern ;  but,  thoug-h  possessed  of  a  strong  will, 
he  had  in  him  "the  milk  of  human  kindness."  He  was 
devoted  to  Sunday-schools,  to  temperance,  to  missions, 
and  to  ministerial  education.  I  remember  hearing  him 
say  that  there  was  a  time  when  he  determined  that  he 
would  not  have  a  permanent  home  for  himself  till  he 
should  see  steps  taken  to  provide  some  way  for  the 
education  of  young  ministers  in  Georgia.  This  was 
away  back  in  the  twenties.  After  waiting,  and  seeing 
no  other  prospect,  he  procured  a  home  and  opened 
upon  his  own  premises  a  theological  school.  He  soon 
gathered  round  him  a  group  of  students  who  paid  their 
expenses,  in  part  at  least,  by  working  on  the  farm. 
But  as  soon  as  Mercer  Institute  was  established,  he 
promptly  gave  up  his  own  enterprise  and  threw  his 
whole  influence  in  favor  of  the  new  institution.  He 
saw  at  last  the  accomplishment  of  what  had  been  his 
aim  and  his  hope  for  Georgia  Baptists. 


SECTION   FOUR. 
JAMES  SHANNON. 

As  already  stated,  I  first  met  Mr.  Shannon  at  the 
Convention  of  1829,  in  Milledgeville.  I  had,  however, 
but  little  opportunity  at  that  time  to  become  person- 
ally acquainted  with  him.  But  I  heard  him  talk,  and  I 
could  not  fail  to  observe  the  respect  and  affection  with 


28  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

which  he  was  regarded  by  those  who  had  previously 
known  him. 

In  1831,  it  came  to  pass  that  I  had  a  better  oppor- 
timity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  him.  He  was 
then  professor  of  languages  in  Franklin  College — now 
the  State  University — and  also  the  pastor  of  the  Bap- 
tist church  in  Athens,  Georgia.  Though  not  yet  a 
member  of  the  church,  I  often  attended  his  ministry. 

When  Mr.  Shannon  entered  upon  his  duties  as  a 
professor  in  the  college,  there  was  no  Baptist  church 
in  Athens.  There  were  a  few  Baptists,  but  their 
membership  was  in  a  church  two  miles  from  town. 
Mr.  Shannon  at  once  went  to  work  among  those 
scattered  sheep,  and  within  the  year  1830  he  was  able, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  to  organize  them  into  a  church 
and  to  see  them  settled  in  their  own  house  of  worship. 
He  of  course  was  elected  pastor  of  the  little  flock. 

In  the  spring  of  1831  there  was  a  wonderful  revival 
of  religion  in  Athens.  It  extended  to  all  the  churches 
that  were  then  in  the  town.  The  number  of  those  who 
professed  conversion  probably  exceeded  a  hundred. 
Much  the  larger  part  of  them,  it  is  true,  joined  the 
Methodists  or  Presbyterians,  for  the  Baptist  church 
was  scarcely  a  year  old,  and  for  thirty  years  there  had 
been  no  regular  Baptist  preaching  in  Athens,  till  Pro- 
fessor Shannon  introduced  it  the  year  before.  Never- 
theless some  of  the  converts  united  with  his  flock.  On 
June  12,  1 83 1,  he  had  the  pleasure  of  baptizing  eleven 
young  converts,  of  whom  it  was  my  precious  privilege 
to  be  one.  The  baptisms  were  administered  in  the 
Oconee  River.  A  large  crowd  was  present  to  witness 
the  scene.  After  the  usual  devotional  exercises 
Brother  Shannon  led  the  candidates,  one  by  one,  into 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  29 

the  water  and  there  baptized  them,  upon  a  profession 
cf  repentance  toward  God  and  of  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  was  a  day  which  I  have 
never  forgotten.  Nor  shall  I  ever  forget  the  dear  man 
who  led  me  into  that  baptismal  water.  As  we  were 
walking  out  into  the  stream  he  said  to  me  in  a  gentle 
voice,  "Look  to  Jesus."  Only  three  words,  but  they 
have  lingered  in  my  memory  for  sixty-five  years,  and 
they  have  been  my  comfort  in  many  a  dark  and  try- 
ing hour  through  the  years  that  have  passed  since  that 
sweet  epoch  in  my  life's  history.  The  scene  was  very 
impressive.  It  was  an  object-lesson  well  calculated  to 
teach  many  of  the  spectators  who  were  Pedobaptists, 
the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly,  if  they  would  only 
heed  it. 

It  is  now  in  order  to  speak  of  Brother  Shannon's  an- 
tecedents. What  I  shall  say  I  received  chiefly  from  his 
own  lips  during  the  years  he  was  my  pastor. 

He  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  His  parents  were 
Presbyterians,  and  as  was  natural,  he  accepted  their 
faith.  At  an  early  age  he  was  enabled  to  hope  for  salva- 
tion through  faith  in  Jesus.  Very  soon,  under  the  light 
of  this  new  hope,  he  became  anxious  to  be  educated, 
and  his  father  at  once  took  steps  to  gratify  his  desire. 
In  due  time  he  graduated  at  Belfast  College  in  his 
native  country,  and  was  soon  made  a  minister  in  the 
Presbyterian   Church. 

About  the  time  that  he  had  completed  his  prepara- 
tions, Mr.  Shannon  met  a  good  opportunity  to  find  em- 
ployment in  our  country.  He  embraced  it,  and  came 
to  Sunbury,  in  Liberty  County,  of  this  State.  He  came 
to  take  charge  of  the  Sunbury  Academy,  which  at  that 


30  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

time  was  a  famous  school,  patronized  by  many  people 
living  along  the  seaboard  of  Georgia.  This  gave  him 
position  at  once  with  all  the  people.  The  Presbyterians 
and  Congregationalists,  especially,  received  him  with 
great  cordiality.  They  were,  at  that  period,  about  the 
year  1820,  quite  numerous  in  the  seaboard  counties. 
Hence  Mr.  Shannon  started  to  work  in  his  new  field  of 
labor  with  fine  prospects  before  him. 

Now  it  happened  that  there  was  a  Baptist  church  at 
Sunbury,  of  which  some  of  the  most  prominent  citi- 
zens were  members.  But  the  Baptist  cause  was  then 
weak  in  that  section  of  the  State.  Mr.  Shannon  had 
not  known  much  about  the  Baptists  while  in  his  native 
land,  but  in  Sunbury  he  was  brought  face  to  face 
with  them.  He  could  not  fail  to  notice  that  their  pas- 
tor. Rev.  C.  O.  Screven,  was  an  able  man  and  that 
some  of  his  own  patrons  were  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.  But  Mr.  Shannon  did  not,  at  first,  look  with 
favor  upon  the  sect  which,  no  doubt,  he  had  often 
heard  spoken  against  from  his  very  childhood.  He 
soon  undertook,  at  the  request  of  his  Pedobaptist  breth- 
ren (if  my  memory  is  not  at  fault  the  request  came 
from  the  Presbytery  of  that  section),  to  write  a  pam- 
phlet designed  to  prove  the  validity  of  infant  baptism 
and  of  sprinkling  as  its  mode. 

He  entered  upon  the  task  with  great  assurance  that 
he  would  easily  sweep  away  the  foundations  of  our 
Baptist  faith.  But  it  happened  to  him  as  it  had  hap- 
pened to  many  others  who  had  tried  the  same 
experiment.  He  failed  to  find  anywhere  in  the  New 
Testament  a  single  trace  of  infant  baptism,  and  his 
classical  learning  enabled  him  to  see  that  "baptizo," 
when  literally  used,  can  never  be  represented  in  Eng- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  31 

lish  by  either  "sprinkle"  or  "pour."  The  result  was 
that  in  a  few  months  Mr.  Shannon  presented  himself 
to  the  Baptist  church  at  Sunbury  as  a  candidate  for 
baptism.  He  was  received  and  was  baptized  by  the 
pastor,  who,  if  I  mistake  not,  was  Rev.  Charles  O. 
Screven.  In  due  time  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry 
in  the  Baptist  church. 

Brother  Shannon's  rise  in  the  denomination  was 
rapid.  He  soon  became  known  as  a  scholar,  a  teacher, 
and  as  a  very  strong  and  forcible  preacher.  In  a  few 
years  he  was  called  to  Augusta.  There  he  became 
principal  of  the  Academy  and  also  served  the  Baptist 
church  as  its  pastor.  His  fame  was  wide-spread 
through  the  denomination. 

Now  it  was  from  Augusta  that  he  was  called 
to  the  chair  of  ancient  languages  in  the  State  College. 
And  I  have  already  given  an  account  of  his  career  in 
Athens. 

His  fame  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  Georgia.  In 
1835  he  received  a  call  to  become  the  president  of  a 
college  in  Louisiana.  This  he  accepted,  and  left  Ath- 
ens in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  He  had  remained  in 
Louisiana  only  a  few  years  when  he  was  offered  the 
presidency  of  the  University  of  Missouri.  This  post 
he  held  till  the  close,  or  near  the  close,  of  his  life. 

It  is  perhaps  proper  to  complete  this  brief  notice  of 
Brother  Shannon  by  stating  that  after  he  left  Georgia 
he  very  soon  identified  himself  with  the  followers  of 
Alexander  Campbell,  and  was  thus  lost  to  the  Baptist 
denomination.  This  was  indeed  greatly  deplored  by 
all  his  brethren  in  Georgia  who  had  known  him.  But 
there  is  no  doubt  about  the  genuineness  of  his  piety; 
and,  if  I  get  to  heaven,  I  feel  assured  that  I  shall  meet 
him  there. 


CHAPTER  III. 


SECTION  ONE. 
ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    SOUTHERN     BAPTIST     CONVEN- 
TION, MAY  8-12,  1845. 

The  organization  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Conven- 
tion was  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Southern  Bap- 
tists. The  cause  which  led  to  it  is  clearly  set  forth 
in  our  records.  But  the  antecedents  of  that  cause  are 
not  so  well  known  by  the  present  generation.  Hence 
it  may  be  well  to  allude  to  some  of  those  antecedents. 

For  more  than  a  score  of  years,  the  anti-slavery  sen- 
timent, among  the  Northern  people  of  our  country, 
had  been  steadily  growing  and  becoming  more  and 
more  intense  and  aggressive.  The  religious  press  and 
pulpit  indulged  in  severe  invectives  against  slavery  and 
slave-holders.  In  this  hostility  to  slavery  the  Baptists 
of  the  North  generally  shared.  But,  for  a  long  time, 
no  overt  action  of  hostility  was  taken  by  any  official 
body  of  Northern  Baptists  which  seemed  to  call  for 
any  counter-action  on  the  part  of  the  South. 

At  length,  however,  such  a  case  did  come.  The 
Board  of  Missions  of  the  Triennial  Baptist  Conven- 
tion, including  in  its  constituency  all  the  Missionary 
Baptists  of  the  South,  refused  to  accept  as  a  missionary 
a  worthy  brother  from  the  South,  on  the  ground  that 
he  was  a  slave-holder.  Due  remonstrance  was  made 
against  this  action  by  intelligent  brethren,  but  to  no 
avail — ^the  Board  adhered  to  its  refusal.  This  fact 
soon  became  known  throughout  the  South;  and  this 

32 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  33 

was  the  cause  that  led  to  the  great  convocation  of 
Southern  Baptists  at  Augusta  in  May,  1845. 

The  number  of  delegates  enrolled  must  have  ex- 
ceeded three  hundred.  They  included  many  of  the 
most  able  and  best  men  found  among  our  Southern 
Baptists.  All  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  respon- 
sibilities that  they  were  about  to  assume.  A  deep 
Christian  spirit  pervaded  the  deliberations  of  the  body. 
The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  the  organization 
of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

They  closed  their  work  with  a  manifesto  addressed 
to  Baptist  brethren  throughout  the  United  States,  ex- 
plaining the  origin,  the  principles,  and  the  objects  of 
their  action  in  forming  the  Southern  Baptist  Conven- 
tion. This  document  speaks  for  itself  and  deserves  to 
be  held  in  perpetual  remembrance  by  every  Southern 
Baptist. 

I  had  a  personal  acquaintance  with  only  a  very 
few  of  the  delegates  who  came  from  other  States.  But 
I  was  well  acquainted  with  many  of  the  members  who 
represented  our  own  State.  Among  these  I  may  men- 
tion Honorable  Wilson  Lumpkin.  He  was  one  of 
Georgia's  historical  characters.  He  was  first  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress,  then  governor  of  our  State,  and  lastly 
he  was  for  six  years  a  senator  of  the  United  States. 
I  was,  at  one  time,  his  pastor.  He  was  attentive  to  the 
interests  of  the  church,  and  proved  himself  to  be  a 
wise  counselor  in  all  its  movements. 

Another  Georgia  delegate  was  Doctor  J.  L.  Dagg, 
at  that  time  president  of  Mercer  University.  He  was 
a  native  of  Virginia.  In  his  early  manhood  he  served 
his  country  as  a  soldier.  The  force  to  which  he  be- 
longed occupied  the  city  of  Baltimore  at  the  time  that 


34  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  British  fleet  was  bombarding-  Fort  McHenry.  He 
was  an  eye-witness  of  that  terrific  scene;  and  the  ac- 
count which  he  gave  to  me  of  that  bombardment  veri- 
fied the  glowing  description  given  of  it  in  our  national 
song,  "The  Star-spangled  Banner."  But  Doctor 
Dagg  was  not  long  a  soldier  in  an  earthly  war.  He  soon 
laid  aside  his  carnal  weapons,  and  clad  in  "the  whole 
armor  of  God"  he  went  forth  to  do  battle  against  the 
Powers  of  Darkness  for  the  glory  of  our  great  Im- 
manuel ;  and  many  a  trophy  did  he  lay  at  the  Master's 
feet. 

Doctor  Dagg  was  pre-eminently  distinguished  for 
the  dignity  of  his  manners.  He  impressed  all  who  ap- 
proached him  with  profound  respect.  I  never  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  him  preach,  for  I  did  not  know  him 
till  after  he  had  lost  his  voice.  But  as  a  conversation- 
alist I  never  knew  his  superior.  He  was  cheerful  but 
never  light.  Without  the  least  ostentation,  his  words 
were  words  of  wisdom.  Hence  he  was  a  wise  and  safe 
counselor,  and  his  influence  over  those  with  whom  he 
associated  was  almost  oracular.  He  loved  the  Bible 
and  his  mind  glowed  with  the  light  of  its  revelations. 

Of  the  brethren  from  other  States,  I  had  the  pleas- 
use  of  meeting  Brother  J.  L.  Burrows.  He  came  as  "a 
corresponding  delegate  from  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society  and  the  Pennsylvania  Baptist 
Convention,  and  was  invited  to  participate  with  us." 
He  was  the  father  of  our  gifted  brother.  Dr.  Lansing 
Burrows,  now  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Augusta. 
In  representing  the  Publication  Society,  Brother  J.  L. 
Burrows  made  an  earnest  speech  in  its  behalf.  The 
speech  was  followed  by  some  discussion  in  which 
several  of  the  delegates  took  part,  notably,  Professor 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  35 

P.  H.  Mell,  Dr.  J.  B.  Jeter,  and  Judge  Junius 
Hillyer.  Brother  Burrows  had  expressed  the  desire 
that  the  Convention  would  not  withdraw  its  sup- 
port and  patronage  from  the  Publication  Society.  No 
action,  however,  was  taken  at  that  time  either  for  or 
against  the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society.  So 
the  Minutes  fail  to  mention  the  discussion. 

Some  time  in  the  seventies  I  saw  Brother  Bur- 
rows again,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention in  New  Orleans.  He  had  then  identified  him- 
self with  the  South  and,  I  think,  was  a  delegate  from 
Virginia.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  speak. 
His  text  was:  "Why  stand  ye  here,  all  the  day,  idle? 
They  say  unto  him,  because  no  man  hath  hired  us." 
(Matt.  XX.  6-7.) 

He  used  the  text  to  illustrate  the  condition  of  many 
church  members  who  are  idle  as  to  church  work,  not 
because  they  are  unwilling  to  render  service,  but  simply 
because  they  have  failed  to  find  any  opportunity  to 
do  it — no  man  hath  hired  them.  So  they  stand,  like 
laborers  in  a  market-place,  waiting  for  a  job.  He  then 
showed,  with  great  force,  the  duty  of  pastors  to  go  out 
and  hunt  up  these  idle  ones  and  find  for  them  some  de- 
partment of  work  suited  to  each  one's  gifts,  where  he 
may  render  some  profitable  service  to  the  Master.  The 
sermon  was  practical  and  very  instructive.  I  have 
never  forgotten  it.  He  is  a  wise  pastor  who  knows 
how  to  utilize  the  moral  forces  of  his  people. 

As  already  stated,  the  Convention  had  its  origin  in 
the  action  of  our  Northern  brethren  towards  us  in  re- 
fusing to  accept  as  a  missionary  a  Southern  brother 
because  he  was  a  slave-holder.  This  cause  of  separa- 
tion has  passed  away,  but  time  and  experience  have 


36  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

developed  other  reasons  that  now  justify  the  ontinu- 
ance  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

It  w^as  organized  that  we  might  more  effectually 
combine  our  Southern  churches  in  the  propagation  of 
the  gospel  at  home  and  in  foreign  lands.  Subsidiary 
to  this  primary  work,  we  have  found  it  needful,  in 
addition  to  the  other  Boards,  to  establish  a  Sunday- 
school  Board,  to  promote  by  its  influence  and  its  litera- 
ture the  training  of  our  young  people  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  Bible  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  may  make 
them  wise  unto  salvation.  For  the  same  reason  we 
have  found  it  necessary  to  build  up  for  ourselves  a 
theological  seminary  where  our  candidates  for  the 
ministry  may  be  qualified  for  any  work  to  which  the 
Lord  our  God  may  call  them. 

We  rejoice  in  the  work  of  the  fathers  at  Augusta 
in  1845.  And  we  rejoice  in  the  subsequent  expan- 
sion of  that  work  in  the  hands  of  their  successors. 
And  we  would  render  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the  suc- 
cess which  has  crowned  our  past  efforts.  God  has 
made  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention  to  be  one  of  his 
chosen  instruments  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  own 
purposes  of  mercy  and  of  grace  towards  all  mankind. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  let  every  Baptist  in  the  South 
look  to  his  colors;  let  him  intensify  his  loyalty  to 
Christ  our  King,  and  strive  to  glorify  his  name  by 
supporting  the  efforts  of  our  glorious  Convention. 

SECTION    TWO. 
THOMAS  CURTIS. 

There  were,  I  suppose,  over  a  hundred  Georgia  Bap- 
tists in  the  Convention  that  assembled  in  Augusta  in 
1845.    I  have  spoken  of  two  of  them.     I  wish  it  were 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  37 

in  order  to  give  a  full  list  of  their  names.  But  I  must 
confine  myself  to  those  whom  I  personally  knew. 
Among  these  was  Doctor  Curtis,  who  was  a  native  of 
England,  and  had  lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
London.  He  came  to  this  country  after  he  had  passed 
middle  life.  He  stopped  first,  on  his  arrival,  in  New 
England,  and  lingered  there  several  years. 

I  became  acquainted  with  this  venerable  man  in  1840. 
He  was  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in 
Macon.  I  was  then  pastor  of  the  church  in  Milledge- 
ville,  only  thirty  miles  from  Macon.  So  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  him  several  times.  I  was  at  his 
home,  and  he  was  at  mine.  We  met  also  at  some  of 
our  Baptist  associations. 

My  relations  to  him  were  very  pleasant.  I  found 
him  to  be  a  man  of  profound  learning.  The  range 
of  his  information  embraced  a  multitude  of  subjects, 
and  as  to  these  subjects  he  might  have  been  called  a 
living  encyclopaedia.  As  far  as  I  now  remember,  he 
took  no  part  in  the  public  discussions  in  the  Conven- 
tion at  Augusta  in  1845.  I  suppose  his  reserve  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  come  so  recently  among 
our  people — too  recently  for  him  to  feel  himself  quali- 
fied to  share  in  the  debates  upon  the  question  which 
then  engaged  the  attention  of  the  body.  But  he  was 
not  allowed  to  be  a  cipher.  He  was  placed  upon  two  of 
the  most  important  committees  of  the  Convention.  .  On 
these  committees  we  may  well  suppose  that  he  ren- 
dered valuable  service. 

Doctor  Curtis  was  one  of  the  most  impressive  of 
preachers,  not  according  to  my  judgment  only,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  of  the  best  men  among  us. 
An  incident  will  illustrate  this  estimate  of  his  power. 


38  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Not  long  after  he  came  to  Georgia  he  attended  a  meet:- 
ing  of  the  Baptist  Convention  at  Penfield,  then  the  seat 
of  Mercer  University.  His  fame  had  gone  before 
him.  The  committee  on  preaching  thought  it  would  be 
just  the  thing  to  have  Brother  Curtis  preach  at  a  time 
when  all  could  hear  him.  And  as  the  place  was  the 
seat  of  Mercer  University,  where  were  gathered  some 
young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry,  they  thought  it 
would  be  very  appropriate  to  have  him  speak  on  theo- 
logical instruction  as  a  necessary  preparation  for  the 
ministry.  They  therefore  appointed  him  to  preach  on 
that  particular  subject. 

But  very  much  to  their  surprise  he  declined  the  ap- 
pointment, giving  as  his  reason  for  declining  that  he 
had  not  expected  such  a  task  to  be  assigned,  and 
had  made  no  preparation  for  it ;  therefore  he 
could  not  consent  to  discuss  so  important  a 
subject  before  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  in  an 
offhand  speech.  This  attitude  of  the  Doctor  did  not 
favorably  impress  the  committee,  and  for  a  little  while 
they  were  inclined  to  let  him  pass,  but  finally  they  ap- 
pointed him  to  preach  and  left  him  at  liberty  to  choose 
his  own  subject.     This  he  cheerfully  consented  to  do. 

Only  a  very  few  of  the  delegates,  and  perhaps  none 
of  the  people  about  Penfield,  had  ever  heard  him. 
There  was,  no  doubt,  a  wide-spread  curiosity  to  hear  the 
old  man  from  England.  So,  at  the  hour  appointed,  the 
Doctor  found  himself  confronted  with  a  large  audience. 
When  the  hymns  were  sung  and  prayer  was  made,  he 
commenced  his  discourse ;  and  here  began  his  triumph. 
He  had  not  spoken  many  minutes  before  the  audience 
was  fixed  in  rapt  attention,  and  he  held  them  so  to  the 
end  of  his  sermon.     I  was  not  present  on  that  occasion, 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  39 

but  the  case  was  reported  to  me  soon  after  it  occurred 
by  an  intelligent  eye-witness,  and  I  have  given  the 
facts  substantially  as  he  gave  them  to  me.  I  am  not 
sure  that  I  remember  who  was  my  first  informant,  but 
I  believe  it  was  Brother  John  E.  Dawson ;  for  I  know 
he  did  talk  to  me  about  that  sermon,  and  made  a  re- 
mark to  this  eflfect,  that  Doctor  Curtis  by  that  sermon 
had  placed  himself  in  the  estimation  of  his  audience 
among  the  very  best  preachers  in  Georgia.  Surely 
then  he  must  have  been  a  most  impressive  speaker. 
The  Convention,  before  it  adjourned,  voted  to  appoint 
Brother  Curtis  to  preach  the  educational  sermon  at  its 
next  session.  This  appointment  he  accepted,  and  ac- 
cordingly he  delivered  the  ensuing  year  an  able  dis- 
course before  the  Convention  on  ministerial  education, 
which,  if  I  remember  correctly,  was  published  either 
in  the  Minutes  or  in  the  Index. 

Some  readers  may  think  that  Doctor  Curtis  was  a 
little  too  fastidious  in  declining,  at  Penfield,  to  preach 
an  offhand  sermon  on  a  subject  of  so  great  import- 
ance as  the  one  assigned  him  by  the  committee.  But 
the  incident  evinces  the  very  high  estimate  which  a 
very  learned  man  placed  upon  the  importance  of  due 
preparation  for  the  pulpit.  A  younger  man,  with  less 
learning  and  less  experience,  might  have  been  rash 
enough  to  comply  with  so  flattering  a  request ;  but  his 
efifort,  in  all  probability,  would  have  ended  in  disap- 
pointment to  his  audience  and  in  mortification  to  him- 
self. The  caution  of  Doctor  Curtis  at  Penfield  affords 
a  valuable  lesson  which  all  our  preachers  would  do  well 
to  heed.  The  sermon  which  he  did  preach  on  that 
occasion  had,  no  doubt,  been  thoroughly  prepared  be- 
fore he  reached  Penfield,  upon  the  supposition  that  he 


4©  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

might  be  invited  to  preach.  And,  as  already  shown,  it 
was  a  brilliant  success. 

About  1844  Doctor  Curtis  left  Georgia  and  went  to 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  became  pastor  of 
the  Wentworth  Street  Baptist  Church.  And  it  was 
from  that  church  that  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the 
Convention  at  Augusta,  in  1845,  ^^at  organized  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

In  1856  I  met  Doctor  Curtis  for  the  last  time  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  in  Savan- 
nah. 

It  only  remains  to  tell  the  sad  story  of  his  death. 
Not  many  years  after  I  last  saw  him  he  set  out  on  an 
excursion  towards  the  North.  At  a  certain  period  of 
his  journey,  he  was  on  board  a  steamer  in  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  It  came  to  pass  that  the  steamer  was 
wrecked.  How  the  catastrophe  occurred  I  do  not 
now  remember.  The  captain  tried  to  run  his  boat 
ashore,  but  it  went  down  in  water  deep  enough  to 
cover  it.  A  majority  of  the  passengers  and  crew  were 
able  to  escape  by  the  small  boats  and  by  swimming, 
but  many  were  drowned,  and  among  them  was  Doctor 
Thomas  Curtis.  I  have  ever  cherished  an  affectionate 
remembrance  of  this  great  and  good  man.  And  I  also 
remember  his  noble  sons,  Thomas  and  William,  who 
while  they  lived  did  good  service  in  the  Master's 
cause.  William  I  know  has  passed  away  and  I  have 
not  heard  of  his  brother  in  many  years.  He  too  is 
probably  dead. 

SECTION  THREE. 
B.   M.    SANDERS. 

When  it  was  determined  by  the  Georgia  Baptist 
Convention  to  found  a  school  in  which  young  men  de- 
siring to  become  ministers  of  the  gospel  might  be 
educated,  the  first  necessity  was  to  find  the  right  man 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  41 

to  place  at  the  head  of  it.  The  school  was  to  unite 
manual  labor  with  study.  It  was  thought  that  such  a 
school  would  afford  to  the  students  an  opportunity  to 
defray  at  least  a  part  of  their  expenses  by  working  a 
portion  of  each  day  on  the  farm. 

This  scheme  made  it  almost  necessary  that  the  prin- 
cipal should  be  not  only  a  good  scholar  with  adequate 
experience  as  a  teacher,  but  also  a  good,  practical 
farmer.  Just  such  a  man  was  found  in  the  person  of 
Rev.  Billington  M.  Sanders.  He  had  graduated  at  the 
University  of  South  Carolina.  After  leaving  college 
he  was  for  several  years  a  practical  teacher.  He  then 
engaged  in  farming,  and  so  successfully  that  he  soon 
had  a  comfortable  estate.  These  two  essential  qualities 
were  supplemented  by  his  being  a  useful  Baptist  min- 
ister. When,  therefore,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
Mercer  Institute,  he  was  qualified  to  be  at  once  the 
principal  in  the  schoolroom,  the  manager  on  the  farm, 
and  the  leader  in  the  house  of  worship.  So  he  was 
emphatically  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 

I  do  not  propose  to  follow  Brother  Sanders  through 
the  history  of  Mercer  Institute.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
his  administration,  with  the  aid  of  competent  assistants, 
was  so  successful  that  in  less  than  seven  years  Mercer 
Institute  was  developed  into  Mercer  University,  and 
Brother  Sanders  was  made  its  first  president. 

In  his  administration  both  in  the  Institute  and  in  the 
University,  his  discipline  was  watchful  and  rigid ;  but 
at  the  same  time  he  was  as  a  father  to  the  students, 
and  I  think  the  great  majority  of  them  so  regarded 
him.  But  passing  by  his  official  labors  let  me  rather 
devote  this  reminiscence  to  the  moral  of  his  life. 

Brother  Sanders  was  a  man  of  deep  and  earnest 
piety,  not  only  in  forms  of  worship,  but  in  practical 


43  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

godliness  that  threw  the  light  of  his  example  over  all 
within  the  reach  of  his  influence.  The  breadth  of  his 
benevolence  was  sufficient  to  embrace  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth.    I  recall  an  incident  which  will  illustrate  this. 

About  forty-five  years  ago,  Ireland  was  visited  with 
a  dreadful  famine  by  a  total  failure  of  her  potato  crop. 
The  case  was  so  serious  that  appeals  for  help  came 
across  the  Atlantic  to  the  people  of  our  country,  and 
nobly  did  they  respond.  In  the  little  village  of  Pen- 
field  the  cry  was  heard.  Under  the  leadership  of 
Brother  Sanders  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Col- 
lege chapel.  The  question  was,  'What  shall  we  do  for 
Ireland?"  Brother  Sanders  answered  the  question  in 
an  able,  earnest,  and  effective  speech.  I  sat  in  front 
of  him.  I  have  never  forgotten  his  tall  and  manly 
figure  as  he  pleaded  with  the  audience  in  behalf  of  the 
starving  poor  in  distant  Ireland.  I  said  his  speech  was 
effective.  In  that  small  community,  three  hundred  dol- 
lars were  collected  and  invested  in  grain,  which  in 
due  time  was  sent  across  the  sea  upon  its  mission  of 
love  and  mercy. 

Another  illustration  of  Brother  Sanders'  broad  phi- 
lanthropy, and  also  of  his  devoted  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
our  great  Redeemer,  has  come  to  my  knowledge  with- 
in the  last  few  days.  In  a  recent  letter  from  a  corre- 
spondent, who  is  himself  an  earnest  worker  in  his 
Master's  vineyard,  and  whose  authority  is  reliable,  I 
learn  that  Brother  Sanders  for  some  years  devoted  a 
tenth  of  his  income  to  works  of  benevolence.  In  those 
years  he  was  prosperous  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
raised  his  contribution  to  twelve  per  cent.,  and  for  a 
like  reason  he  increased  it,  a  few  years  later,  to  fifteen 
per  cent,  of  his  income.     And  but  for  the  weight  of 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  43 

his  large  family  we  have  reason  to  believe  he  would 
have  continued  to  increase  it  as  the  Lord  prospered 
him. 

Of  course  Brother  Sanders  was  not  the  only  Baptist 
in  Georgia  who  set  apart  a  definite  percentage  of  his 
income  for  benevolent  purposes.  The  letter  above  re- 
ferred to  gives  me  another  case  which  I  hope  to  notice 
farther  on  in  these  reminiscences. 

The  moral  or  lesson  taught  by  such  a  life  as  that  of 
Brother  Sanders  is  one  which  we  all  should  study. 
Consider  his  wide  benevolence,  and  his  systematic  and 
generous  liberality.  Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  we 
could  find  in  Georgia  five  thousand  Baptists  whose  in- 
comes are  over  one  thousand  dollars,  and  who  would 
give  an  average  of  ten  per  cent,  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 
That  five  thousand  would  raise  half  a  million  of  dol- 
lars. Such  men  as  B.  M.  Sanders  set  us  an  example 
which  deserves  to  be  followed. 

But  Brother  Sanders's  benevolence  was  not  confined 
to  the  more  conspicuous  objects  of  public  charity;  it 
was  manifested  in  a  remarkable  degree  along  the 
walks  of  social  life.  He  was  the  friend  of  everybody 
who  needed  help.  And  yet  his  kindness  was  never 
officious  nor  ostentatious.  It  seemed  to  flow  naturally, 
as  if  it  were  a  matter-of-course  thing,  for  which  he 
expected  no  return  or  thanks.  A  little  incident  in  my 
own  experience  will  illustrate  this  feature  in  his  social 
benevolence.  On  one  occasion  I  had  gone  from  Pen- 
field  up  the  Georgia  Railroad  for  some  purpose  not 
now  remembered.  When  I  left  home  I  did  not  know 
exactly  the  time  I  would  return,  and  therefore  my 
family  did  not  know  when  to  send  my  buggy  to  meet 
me  at  the  depot  in  Greensboro,  seven  miles  from  Pen- 


44  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

field.  Now  it  happened  that  on  my  excursion  I  met 
Brother  Sanders,  who,  I  learned,  expected  to  return  to 
Penfield  before  I  could.  So  I  asked  him  to  let  my 
wife  know  at  what  time  to  send  for  me.  I  was  to 
reach  Greensboro  by  the  night  train.  For  some  reason, 
which  I  have  forgotten,  he  failed  to  deliver  my  mes- 
sage till  night  had  come.  Then,  rather  than  trouble  my 
family,  he  sent  his  own  conveyance  to  meet  me  at 
Greensboro.  I  found  the  carriage  at  the  depot  await- 
ing me. 

This  act  of  kindness  was  by  no  means  singular ; 
for  I  am  sure  he  often  conferred  similar  favors  upon 
others  as  well  as  myself.  It  was  such  acts  of  unsel- 
fish kindness  that  made  B.  M.  Sanders  everybody's 
BROTHER  in  the  community  where  he  lived.  If  all 
people  would  follow  him  in  his  broad  benevolence,  the 
millennial  day  would  soon  illuminate  this  benighted 
world  with  its  effulgent  glory. 

Having  said  so  much  about  this  venerable  man  of 
God,  I  will  add  a  few  reminiscen'ces  of  his  devoted  com- 
panion. Mrs.  Sanders  was  a  "Georgia  Baptist,"  and 
though  a  woman  limited  to  a  domestic  sphere,  she  be- 
came an  important  factor  in  the  great  work  which 
Georgia  Baptists  had  undertaken  at  Penfield.  During 
the  period  of  the  "Institute,"  while  her  husband  was 
principal  of  the  school  and  manager  of  the  farm,  Mrs. 
Sanders  was  presiding  over  the  domestic  comfort  of 
the  whole  establishment.  Every  day  from  sixty  to  a 
hundred  boys  sat  at  her  table.  Though  she  labored,  as 
it  were,  out  of  sight,  may  we  not  say  that  she  was  the 
big  wheel  whose  unseen  revolutions  kept  in  motion  all 
the  machinery  of  the  institution?  Had  she  stood  still, 
wreck  and  ruin  might  have  been  the  consequence. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  45 

She  was  not  toiling  for  money,  for  her  husband  was 
well  able  to  take  care  of  his  family  without  the  trifling 
compensation  he  might  perchance  receive.  No,  he  was 
working  for  the  Great  Master,  and  she  was  faithfully 
trying  to  help  him,  and  nobly  did  she  fill  the  place 
that  fell  to  her  lot. 

Her  social  kindness  was  as  conspicuous  as  her  hus- 
band's. She  was  a  sister  of  mercy  in  every  household 
within  her  reach  where  there  was  heard  the  cry  of  dis- 
tress. 

There  is  no  need  to  multiply  words,  I  will  only  re- 
peat here  what  I  said  in  a  public  address  years  ago: 
"When  the  roll  of  honor  is  made  up  that  shall  bear  the 
names  of  those  who  built  Mercer  University,  that  roll 
will  be  incomplete  without  the  name  of 

MRS.  CYNTHIA  SANDERS." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


SECTION  ONE. 
JOHN  LEADLEY  DAGG. 

It  was  said,  almost  at  the  beginning  of  these  reminis- 
cences, that  they  are  not  written  merely  to  gratify  the 
curiosity  of  our  readers,  but  that  they  may  hold  in 
grateful  remembrance  the  labors  and  the  virtues  of  the 
fathers  and  the  mothers  of  our  denomination  in  Geor- 
gia. The  study  of  their  lives  should  inflame  our  zeal, 
elevate  our  motives  and  guide  our  methods  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord.  With  this  high  aim  in  view,  I  propose 
to  devote  this  space  to  the  memory  of  John  Leadley 
Dagg. 

In  a  previous  chapter  I  have  made  a  brief  mention  of 
him,  but  on  account  of  the  rich  lesson  of  his  life,  he 
deserves  a  more  extended  notice. 

I  was  Doctor  Dagg's  son-in-law,  and  was  a  professor 
in  Mercer  University  for  nine  years  while  he  was  its 
president.  Thus  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  know  him 
well,  and  to  learn  much,  from  his  own  lips,  of  his 
early  life. 

His  father  could  not  give  him  a  liberal  education. 
Perhaps  two  years  would  cover  all  the  time  that  he  at- 
tended school ;  and  this  was  in  his  early  boyhood. 
About  the  same  time  he  lost  both  his  parents  and  was 
left  an  orphan,  with  the  care  of  a  younger  sister  thrown 
upon  his  hands.  Such  was  the  dark  cloud  that  gath- 
ered over  his  young  life. 

Scant  as  was  his  opportunity  at  school,  it  was  enough 
to  awaken  his  desire  for  knowledge  and  in  some  degree 

46 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  47 

to  teach  him  how  to  study.  He,  therefore,  devoted  his 
spare  time  to  his  text-books.  In  this  way,  by  private 
study,  he  made  such  progress  that  at  the  early  age  of 
sixteen  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  school  in  the  coun- 
try, and  was  able  to  give  his  patrons  entire  satisfaction. 
While  engaged  in  that  school  he  availed  himself  of  all 
his  leisure  time  to  prosecute  his  own  studies  along  the 
lines  of  a  liberal  education,  and  thus  he  was  continually 
adding  to  his  acquisition  of  knowledge.  This  method 
of  self-culture  he  faithfully  followed  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  his  public   life. 

Doctor  Dagg  was  converted  on  his  fifteenth  birthday, 
February  13,  1809,  was  baptized  in  1812,  and  ordained 
to  the  work  of  the.  ministry  a  few  years  later.  Then 
commenced  his  career  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  It 
was  not  my  privilege  ever  to  hear  him  preach ;  for  he 
had  ceased  to  preach  before  I  knew  him.  But  I  know, 
from  the  testimony  of  others,  that  he  was  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  and  admiration,  by  those  to  whom  he 
ministered,  as  a  preacher  of  extraordinary  power  and 
influence. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  after  he  had  devoted  him- 
self to  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel.  Doctor  Dagg 
did  not  cease  to  be  a  student.  Before  his  eyes  failed  him 
it  was  his  custom,  as  he  told  me  himself,  to  rise  at  four 
o'clock  and  study  till  the  duties  of  the  morning  claimed 
his  attention.  Under  such  study,  by  the  light  of  a 
candle,  no  wonder  his  eyes  failed  him !  While  yet  in 
the  prime  of  his  life  he  became  unable  to  read  or  write. 
But  fortunately,  his  eldest  daughter  was  qualified  to  be 
his  reader  and  amanuensis.  With  her  assistance,  he 
still  prosecuted  his  researches  both  in  secular  and  sa- 
cred learning.     It  was  through  such  difficulties  as  these 


48  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

that  Doctor  Dag-g  reached  his  high  position  as  a  scholar 
and  a  theologian.  He  was  well  versed  in  Latin,  Greek, 
and  Hebrew.  He  was  a  profound  mathematician.  He 
was  well  informed  in  the  natural  sciences,  and  he  was  a 
metaphysician  and  logician. 

But  while  thus  devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
he  was  never  forgetful  of  the  higher  claims  of  the 
ministry.  Indeed,  he  made  his  studies  subsidiary  to  his 
preparation  for  the  pulpit,  and  he  gave  certain  hours 
every  day,  when  not  providentially  hindered,  to  pastoral 
visiting.  His  church  in  Sansom  Street,  Philadelphia, 
numbered  about  one  thousand  members.  It  may  have 
required  a  year  to  make  his  rounds,  but  his  aim  was  to 
become  personally  acquainted  with  every  household. 
Hence  his  people  loved  him.  He  was  to  his  flock  a 
visible  "shepherd"  and  they  delighted  to  hear  his 
voice  in  their  homes,  however  exalted  or  however  hum- 
ble those  homes  might  be. 

But  it  was  in  Sansom  Street  that  another  affliction 
was  added  to  his  infirmities.  If  I  remember  rightly, 
it  was  when  he  was  in  the  pulpit,  preaching  to  his  peo- 
ple, that  his  voice  suddenly  sank  to  a  whisper  and  he 
was  not  able  to  finish  his  discourse.  This  was  the  re- 
sult of  an  affection  of  the  throat  that  had  often  troubled 
him.  It  became  so  severe  at  last  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  give  up  preaching. 

Just  here,  pause  and  contemplate  the  man — so  lame 
that  he  could  not  walk  without  a  crutch,  so  blind  that  he 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  at  last,  so  broken  in 
voice  that  he  could  not  preach !  And  all  these  calam- 
ities came  upon  him  while  he  was  yet  in  the  morning  of 
his  life. 

In  this  sad  condition,  did  he  go  into  retirement? 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  49 

By  no  means :  his  vast  stores  of  knowledge  were  too 
valuable  to  be  wasted  in  obscurity.  He  was  very  soon 
called  to  take  charge  of  a  theological  school  at  Had- 
dington, near  Philadelphia,  where  it  was  his  privilege 
to  train  young  men  for  the  ministry.  He  afterwards 
became  the  president  of  the  Female  Atheneum  in  Tus- 
caloosa, Alabama,  where  he  labored  with  wonderful 
success  for  six  years.  He  was  then  elected  professor 
of  theology  in  Mercer  University,  and  in  a  year  or  two 
was  promoted  to  the  presidency,  still  retaining,  how- 
ever, his  chair  of  theology.  Here  again  he  found  the 
employment  which  he  loved. 

His  fitness  for  this  kind  of  work  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  following  incident :  At  one  of  our  commence- 
ments, Hon.  Green  Foster  delivered  a  public  address. 
In  speaking  of  the  University  it  was  natural  to  allude 
to  the  presiding  officer.  Doctor  Dagg  was  sitting  on 
the  rostrum  to  the  left  of  the  speaker.  At  a  certain 
point  in  his  speech  Colonel  Foster  proposed  to  relate 
an  anecdote.  I  can  not  give  it  in  his  words,  but  in 
substance  it  was  about  this :  A  certain  general  had. 
for  many  years,  served  his  king  most  faithfully  in  the 
field.  He  had  won  many  victories  over  the  king's  en- 
emies, and  had  greatly  extended  his  dominions.  But, 
at  last,  this  noble  warrior  was  so  disabled  by  wounds 
that  he  could  no  longer  serve  in  the  field.  He  pre- 
sented himself  at  court  to  express  to  his  sovereign  his 
deep  regret  that  he  could  no  longer  serve  him. 

When  the  king  had  heard  his  story  he  said  to  him : 
"Do  not  be  distressed  because  you  can  not  serve  me  on 
the  field.  I  have  other  work  of  great  importance,  for 
which  your  past  experiences  have  abundantly  qualified 
you.     You  shall  be  at  the  head  of  my  military  schools 


50  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

to  train  my  young  officers  for  their  duties  in  the  field." 
Then,  turning-  to  the  president,  the  speaker  appHed  the 
story  to  illustrate  Doctor  Dagg's  present  position.  He, 
too,  had  done  valiant  service  in  the  open  field  against 
the  enemies  of  our  Heavenly  King,  and  won  for  him 
many  signal  victories ;  but  now  the  Master  had  placed 
him  in  a  position  where  he  might  train  young  ministers 
for  service  in  His  cause.  All  saw  at  a  glance  the  ap- 
propriateness of  the  application.  Doctor  Dagg  was 
deeply  affected  by  it.  He  told  me  afterwards  that 
Foster's  story  had  given  him  great  comfort. 

When  Doctor  Dagg  retired  from  the  University,  he 
did  not  cease  from  labor.  For  several  years  he  had 
been  thinking  of  writing  a  manual  of  theology  for  the 
use  of  students  preparing  for  the  ministry.  When, 
therefore,  he  found  himself  free  from  his  public  labors, 
he  was  ready  to  enter  upon  his  life  as  an  author.  His 
''Manual  of  Theology"  and  "Church  Order,"  then  his 
"Moral  Science"  and  "Evidences  of  Christianity,"  all 
appeared  within  a  reasonable  time.  These  works  are 
too  well  known  to  need  any  comments  from  me.  More- 
over, my  impressions  of  Doctor  Dagg  as  a  writer  have 
already  been  given  in  full  in  the  ''History  of  Georgia 
Baptists." 

These  reminiscences  of  Doctor  Dagg,  incomplete  as 
they  are  for  the  want  of  space,  present  to  us  a  wonder- 
ful character.  Think  of  a  boy,  poor,  an  orphan,  without 
a  rich  friend  to  help  him,  working  his  way,  by  his  up- 
right deportment  and  his  patient  toil,  to  a  respect- 
able and  honored  manhood.  Then  think  of  him  as  a 
man  afflicted  with  lameness  and  with  partial  blind- 
ness and  bereft  of  his  voice  still  working  his  wav  up- 
ward and  onward  till,  as  a  benefactor  of  mankind,  he 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  51 

stands  the  peer  of  the  great  and  the  good  in  all  this 
broad  land  of  ours.  Is  not  such  a  character  worthy  of 
the  emulation  and  the  imitation  of  all  our  young 
men?  It  is  like  some  lofty  monument.  The  beauty  of 
its  proportions  excites  our  admiration,  while  its  al- 
titude points  us  toward  heaven. 


SECTION  TWO. 
MRS.  J.  L.  DAGG. 

Georgia  Baptists  include  among  them  many  noble 
women,  as  well  as  men,  who  truly  deserve  to  be  re- 
membered. But,  because  they  have  lived  for  the 
most  part  in  retirement,  and  almost  in  seclusion,  their 
pious  and  self-denying  labors  in  the  Master's  service 
have  failed  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  busy  public,  and 
reminiscences  of  them  are,  in  a  great  measure,  limited 
to  the  sad  column  of  "obituaries"  which  are  often 
passed  unread,  save  by  relatives  and  a  few  personal 
friends. 

But  this  neglect  has  not  been  intentional.  It  has 
been  the  natural  result  of  the  retired  lives  which  our 
sisters  have  led.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  great 
majority  of  them  who  have  lived  in  country  homes 
away  from  our  cities  and  our  towns. 

I  have  already  presented  in  these  reminiscences  two 
signal  examples  of  our  Georgia  sisters — Mrs.  Rebecca 
Mathews  and  Mrs.  Cynthia  Sanders — who  may  well 
be  called  "Mothers  in  Israel." 

I  now  propose  to  give  what  I  remember  of  Mrs.  J. 
L.  Dagg. 

I  first  met  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Dagg  in  Tuscaloosa, 
Alabama,  in  1837.  But  my  interview  was  a  brief  one. 
The  next  time  I  saw  them  was  soon  after  Doctor  Dagg 


53  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

had  taken  charge  of  Mercer  University,  in  1844. 
From  that  time  I  had  the  best  opportunity  to  become 
acquainted  with  Mrs.  Dagg  and  to  learn,  in  our  fre- 
quent conversations,  some  items  of  her  early  life. 

Her  maiden  name  was  Mary  Young,  and  her  first 
husband  was  Rev.  Noah  Davis.  And  here  let  me  add 
parenthetically,  Mr.  Davis  was  the  founder  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society.  To  the  devel- 
opment and  growth  of  this  society  he  devoted  the  lat- 
ter part  of  his  short  but  noble  life.  In  his  arduous 
labors  he  no  doubt  found  a  sympathizing  helper  in 
his  faithful  wife.  He  did  not  live  to  see  the  grand  suc- 
cess of  what,  at  first,  seemed  to  be  a  bold  but  doubtful 
enterprise.  His  wife,  however,  lived  to  see  the  prayers 
and  the  hopes  of  her  husband  realized  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  society  which  he  had  founded  into  one  of 
the  most  beneficent  publishing-houses  ever  established 
on  this  globe.  It  stands  to-day  second  to  none,  un- 
less it  may  be  to  the  British  and  Foreign,  and  the 
American  Bible  Societies.  This  was  the  first  great 
work  in  which  Mrs.  Davis  (afterwards  Mrs.  Dagg) 
became  an  important  factor. 

By  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Davis  was  left  a 
widow  with  two  little  boys  upon  her  hands  and  her 
heart.  She  lived  in  this  sad  condition  two  years  or 
more,  when  she  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Dagg. 

He,  too,  had  children  by  a  former  marriage — three 
daughters  and  one  son.  These  Mrs.  Dagg  at  once 
took  under  her  care  with  the  tenderness  and  faithful- 
ness of  a  mother.  The  children,  however,  had  not 
been  neglected  during  Brother  Dagg's  widowerhood. 
He  had  living  with  him  a  maiden  sister,  several  years 
younger  than  himself.     Her  name  was  Sarah.     She 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  53 

had  the  motherless  little  ones  in  her  charge  for  seven 
or  eight  years.  And  kindly  did  she  watch  over  and 
guide  them.  They  repaid  her  kindness  with  an  undy- 
ing love.  As  long  as  they  lived  ''Aunt  Sallie"  was  a 
cherished  name  in  all  their  households.  But  at  length 
"Aunt  Sallie"  married  and  left  her  brother's  home. 
Then  the  care  of  the  children  devolved  upon  Mrs. 
Dagg,  and  nobly  did  she  meet  its  responsibilities. 

I  can  not  record  the  details  of  her  life  in  Philadel- 
phia, at  Haddington,  and  at  Tuscaloosa.  It  must  suffice 
to  say  that  in  all  these  positions  she  was  a  prime 
factor  in  the  work  of  her  husband ;  for  it  was  in 
a  great  degree  due  to  her  wise  and  faithful  co-opera- 
tion that,  in  spite  of  his  physical  infirmities,  he  was 
able  to  accomplish  so  much  for  the  benefit  of  his  own 
and  succeeding  generations. 

The  elements  of  her  character  were  such  as  quali- 
fied her  to  be  the  woman  above  described.  Among 
these  elements  was  her  culture. 

At  Tuscaloosa,  she  filled  the  chair  of  rhetoric  in  the 
Atheneum  with  signal  success.  She  had  read  much  of 
secular  literature.  And  when  reading  for  Dr.  Dagg 
she  had  the  opportunity  of  enjoying  the  best  religious 
literature  in  the  English  language.  In  addition  to  a 
high  mental  culture  she  was  an  accomplished  pianist 
and  a  most  melodious  and  delightful  singer.  Again, 
she  was  a  correct  elocutionist.  This  gave  to  her  con- 
versation an  inexpressible  charm.  Then,  as  a  finishing 
touch  to  her  accomplishments,  she  was  exceedingly 
graceful  in  her  manners.  She  understood  and  observed 
the  proprieties  of  social  life.  Had  she  been  so  inclined, 
she  was  well  prepared  with  her  rich  endowments  of 
mind  and  manners  to  adorn  the  circles  of  worldly  so- 


54  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

ciety.  But  she  had  no  such  inclination.  And  this 
leads  me  to  speak  of  her  piety. 

Whatever  may  have  been  her  fondness  for  the  world 
in  her  early  girlhood  days,  when  she  at  length  put  on 
Christ  by  baptism  she  consecrated  herself  to  a  higher 
and  better  life  than  can  be  found  anywhere  along  the 
walks  of  worldly  society.  She  chose  rather  to  be  a 
"companion  of  all  them  that  fear  the  Lord,  and  keep 
his  precepts,"  and  she  loved  the  house  of  prayer 
and  the  place  of  public  worship.  In  these  she  hoped  to 
find  the  water  of  life  and  the  bread  of  heaven,  that  her 
spiritual  strength  might  be  sustained. 

Mrs.  Dagg  was  not  content  to  be  only  a  recipient  of 
heavenly  grace,  she  desired  to  be  also  its  distributor  to 
the  extent  of  her  opportunity.  Hence  she  was  ready  for 
any  church  work  that  might  be  assigned  her.  She  was 
willing  to  lead  the  female  prayer-meeting  when  it 
came  to  her  turn,  and  delighted  to  gather  around  her 
a  Bible  class  of  young  ladies  from  the  village  that  she 
might  aid  them  in  the  systematic  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. And  I  venture  to  say  that  few  Bible  classes  have 
ever  been  more  intelligently  taught  than  hers. 

But  her  benevolence  did  not  stop  at  her  Bible  class. 
It  extended  to  the  poor  and  to  the  suffering  ones  within 
her  reach.  Had  her  means  been  equal  to  her  good 
will,  this  whole  world  would  have  been  the  beneficiary 
of  her  charity. 

During  the  last  years  of  her  life  she  was  afflicted 
with  blindness.  She  died  during  the  war  at  the 
house  of  her  stepson,  Rev.  J.  F.  Dagg. 

In  taking  leave  of  this  interesting  character,  may  I 
not  mention  that  Mrs.  Dagg  was  the  mother  of  Pro- 
fessor Noah  K.  Davis,  of  the  University  of  Virginia? 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  55 

He  graduated  early  in  the  fifties  at  Mercer  University 
while  Doctor  Dagg  was  its  president.  His  subsequent 
life  has  conferred  honor  upon  his  alma  mater,  and  the 
friends  of  Mercer  may  well  be  proud  of  him. 

Mrs.  Dagg's  only  daughter,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Mallary,  of 
Macon,  like  her  mother,  is  a  most  accomplished  lady, 
and,  like  her  mother,  she  has  worked  with  all  fidelity 
with  her  husband  in  his  arduous  labors.  She  is  a 
bright  illustration  of  the  life  and  character  of  her 
mother. 


SECTION  THREE. 
CHARLES  D.  MALLARY. 

The  account  given  of  Brother  Mallary  in  the  "His- 
tory of  Georgia  Bapists"  contains  a  full  report  of  a 
sermon  preached  by  Rev.  J.  R.  Kendrick,  D.D.,  in  a 
memorial  of  him  soon  after  his  death.  I  do  not  know 
that  I  ever  read  a  better  memorial  sermon  anywhere 
than  is  there  given  us  of  Doctor  Mallary.  It  presents 
to  us  the  man  in  all  the  phases  of  his  life  and  character. 
It  is  done  methodically,  perspicuously,  and  forcibly 
and  exhaustively.  As  one  who  reads  it  comes  to  the 
end,  he  feels  satisfied  that  there  was  no  need  to  add 
anything  more. 

I  read  the  sermon  with  peculiar  feelings. 

Brother  Kendrick  was  talking  about  a  man  whom  I 
had  known  and  loved,  and  with  whom  I  had  been  inti- 
mately associated  in  religious  and  denominational  work 
for  nearly  thirty  years.  Hence  as  I  read  his  sermon, 
my  memory  and  my  judgment  confirmed  the  truthful- 
ness of  his  testimony,  I  do  not  know  that  there  is  a 
single  sentence  that  I  would  care  to  modify.  In  that 
sermon  Charles  D.  Mallary  stands  before  us  as  an  illus- 


56  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

trious  example  of  the  moral  grandeur  to  which  a  fer- 
vent faith  in  Jesus  Christ  can  lift  a  human  being.  Such 
a  man  as  Mallary  was  can  not  be  developed  on  this 
earth  save  by  the  power  and  grace  of  the  indwelling 
Christ.  We  see  in  him  a  practical  exemplification  of 
Paul's  words :  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ.  Neverthe- 
less I  live;  yet,  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me,  and  the 
life  which  T  now  live,  in  the  flesh,  I  live  in  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for 
me."     Such  a  man  was  our  beloved  Mallary. 

In  the  face  of  that  record,  nothing  is  left  for  me  to 
do  but  to  add  a  few  personal  recollections  that  may 
serve  to  illustrate  and  verify  the  character  so  ably  pre- 
sented to  us  by  Doctor  Kendrick. 

When  the  Baptist  Convention  of  Georgia  resolved  to 
elevate  Mercer  Institute  to  the  rank  of  a  university, 
the  first  thing  they  needed  was  an  endowment.  Brother 
Mallary  was  selected  as  the  man  to  raise  it.  He  was 
then  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Milledgeville.  So 
thoroughly  was  he  interested  in  this  enterprise  that  he 
gave  up  his  church  and  accepted  the  agency,  still,  how- 
ever, making  Milledgeville  his  headquarters.  At  that 
time  the  Georgia  Railroad  was  building.  It  had  hardly 
reached  Greensboro.  The  Central  Railroad  had  not 
reached  much  farther  than  Millen.  Hence  an  agent  in 
those  days  had  to  rely  upon  private  conveyance  to  can- 
vass, the  State.  This  made  the  work  very  laborious. 
And  to  increase  the  difficulty  the  strength  of  the  de- 
nomination was,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  country 
churches.  But  Brother  Mallary.  though  in  feeble 
health,  was  equal  to  the  situation.  With  his  horse  and 
buggy  he  went  forth  on  his  lonely  drives  over  all  the 
territory  of  the  Convention  that  he  might  find  those 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  57 

Baptists  who  were  willing  to  help  endow  the  univer- 
sity. He  sometimes  found  them  in  groups,  by  so  ar- 
ranging his  movements  as  to  be  on  hand  as  often  as 
possible  at  the  conferences  of  the  churches,  and  at  as 
many  associations  as  he  could  attend ;  but  he  took  care 
to  appeal  to  individuals  also  when  he  had  opportunity 
to  do  it. 

While  engaged  in  this  work,  he  did  not  forget  his 
ministry.  He  preached  wherever  he  found  an  open 
door.  And  no  doubt  his  power  in  the  pulpit  and  the 
influence  which  it  gave  him  over  the  affections  of  his 
brethren  contributed  greatly  to  the  success  of  his 
agency.  By  the  time  Brother  Mallary  had  finished  his 
work  he  was  widely  known  and  greatly  beloved 
throughout  the  State. 

Such  was  his  success  that  he  was  able  in  about  two 
years  to  report  to  the  Convention  an  endowment  of 
sixty-five  thousand  dollars.  All  of  this,  except  what 
little  cash  may  have  been  given,  was  in  notes  bearing 
interest  at  eight  per  cent,  per  annum. 

The  first  Board  of  Trustees  met  in  Penfield  in  1838 
to  organize  the  faculty  of  the  university.  As  a  mem- 
'ber  of  the  Board,  I  was  present  on  that  occasion.  It 
was  perfectly  manifest,  in  a  few  minutes  after  the 
Board  came  together,  that  Doctor  Mallary  was  the 
choice  of  the  brethren  for  the  presidency  of  the  col- 
lege. I  think  there  was  not  a  dissenting  voice.  My 
impression  is  that  he  was  elected  by  acclamation ;  but, 
at  any  rate,  the  demonstration  in  his  favor  was  so  out- 
spoken that  Brother  Mallary  felt  it  his  duty  to  reply  to 
it.  In  a  very  feeling  speech  he  decisively  declined  the 
proposed  honor.  He  based  his  decision  upon  the 
ground  that  his  convictions  of  duty  would  not  permit 


58  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

him  to  accept  a  position  that  would  greatly  hinder  his 
ministerial  usefulness.  The  brethren  were  convinced 
that  it  was  needless  to  press  the  matter  any  further. 
The  incident  clearly  shows  how  completely  this  good 
man  had  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  preaching  the 
gospel. 

I  heard  Brother  Mallary  preach  many  times.  The 
first  time  I  ever  heard  him  was  in  1838.  He  took  for 
his  text  the  words  of  the  angel  to  the  women  at  the  sep- 
ulcher:  "Ye  seek  Jesus  which  was  crucified.  He  is 
not  here;  for  he  is  risen,  as  he  said.  Come,  see 
the  place  where  the  Lord  lay."  His  theme  was 
the  resurrection  of  Christ.  And  his  aim  was  to  show 
that  this  wonderful  fact  is  the  basal  rock  upon  which 
Christianity,  with  all  our  hopes  of  salvation,  must 
stand.  I  can't  give  all  his  topics ;  but  he  made  the  res- 
urrection of  Christ  to  be  the  proof  of  almost  every- 
thing else  that  is  taught  in  the  New  Testament.  And 
he  sustained  each  point  by  appropriate  Scriptures.  Ev- 
ery thought  seemed  to  clothe  the  resurrection  of  Jesus, 
that  Sunday  morning,  with  increased  luster  that  shined 
onward  and  upward  to  the  climax  of  the  future  glory 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  When  he  had  unfolded  the 
doctrine  of  the  subject,  at  any  point,  he  would  recur  to 
the  words  of  the  angel :  "Ye  seek  Jesus  ;  he  is  not  here ; 
he  is  risen  as  he  said ;  come  see  the  place  where  the 
Lord  lay."  This  was  the  beautiful  refrain  that  ever 
and  anon  came  upon  the  ear  like  a  grand  chorus  de- 
signed to  mingle  its  significance  with  the  sublime  music 
of  the  sermon.  It  was  then  I  was  made  to  under- 
stand the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  I  had  never  under- 
stood it  before.  And  I  have  never  forgotten  that  ser- 
mon. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  59 

It  is  simply  marvelous  that  a  man  so  meek,  so  un- 
selfish and  so  humble  as  he,  should  have  been  the  ob- 
ject of  chief  attraction  in  almost  every  circle  in  which 
he  moved.  And  yet  this  was  true  of  Doctor  Mallary. 
At  the  risk  of  a  little  egotism,  I  gladly  put  on  record 
here  that  he  was  to  me  a  most  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive and  helpful  companion.  When  he  gave  up  the 
pastorate  at  Milledgeville  I  was,  after  a  few  months, 
his  successor.  But,  as  before  stated,  he  continued  for  a 
time  to  make  Milledgeville  his  headquarters.  Hence  we 
were  brought  into  close  relations.  I  can  not  tell  how 
much  I  was  indebted  to  his  instructive  conversation,  his 
wise  counsels,  and  to  his  kind  support  with  his  social 
influence  among  the  brethren  for  my  success  as  a  pas- 
tor over  that  people.  I  thank  God  to-day  for  my  as- 
sociation with  that  great  and  good  man. 

A  single  case  will  tell  the  story  of  his  compassion  for 
the  poor.  A  widow,  with  four  children,  was  seated  at 
the  fireside  in  her  humble  home.  She  and  her  children 
were  very  sad.  Few  words  were  spoken.  They  had, 
that  very  evening,  eaten  their  last  morsel  of  food. 
They  knew  not  what  the  morrow  would  bring.  An 
hour  of  sadness  passed  by.  They  could  expect  noth- 
ing but  downright  beggary  or  starvation. 

But  hark !  There  is  a  call  at  the  front  gate.  One 
of  the  older  boys  goes  out  to  answer  the  call.  Pres- 
ently he  returns  and  informs  his  mother  that  Mr.  Mal- 
lary's  wagon  is  at  the  gate  loaded  with  something  for 
her. 

All  in  that  house  knew  Mr.  Mallary.  They  had 
known  him  in  better  days.  But  the  death  of  the  hus- 
band and  father,  with  other  adverse  conditions,  had  re- 
duced the  family  to  deep  poverty.     Mr.  Mallary  was 


6o  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

then  living  thirty  miles  away.  Little  did  the  poor  wo- 
man dream  that  he  was  thinking  of  her.  But  he  had 
known  something  of  her  trials,  and  the  morning  of 
that  very  day  he  was  impressed  with  the  fear  that  she 
might  be  in  want.  And,  at  any  rate,  he  knew  that  the 
supplies  would  be  needed  soon,  if  not  just  then;  so  he 
sent  them.  They  came  just  in  time  to  make  glad  the 
weeping  household.  In  this  incident  we  see  not  only 
the  beneficent  charity  of  a  noble  heart,  but  also  the 
guiding  providence  of  the  widow's  God  and  the  or- 
phan's Father. 

Such  acts  as  this,  added  to  his  liberal  gifts  to  every 
good  and  noble  enterprise,  signalize  the  unselfish  be- 
nevolence of  Dr.  C.  D.  Mallary. 


SECTION   FOUR. 
JOHN    E.    DAWSON. 

Thirty-six  years  have  passed  away  since  the  death  of 
Doctor  Dawson.  During  those  thirty-six  years  the 
generation  with  which  he  was  identified  have,  with  few 
exceptions,  followed  him  to  the  grave.  Especially  is 
this  true  of  those  who  were  associated  with  him  in 
his  ministerial  life  and  labors.  The  great  majority  of 
Georgia  Baptists  now  living  have  no  personal  knowl- 
edge of  Dr.  John  E.  Dawson.  For  their  benefit,  I  pro- 
pose to  give  my  own  recollections  of  the  man. 

I  first  heard  Brother  Dawson  preach  in  November, 
1834.  He  was  then  about  twenty-nine  years  of  age, 
and  the  sermon  which  I  heard  was  one  of  his  earliest 
efiforts.  He  was  not  yet  ordained.  His  manner  in  the 
pulpit  was  easy,  unaffected  and  graceful.  The  sermon 
was  short,  but  earnest ;  and  in  some  of  his  paragraphs 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  6i 

he  gave  indications  of  that  tenderness  and  pathos  with 
which  he  was  endowed. 

He  was  four  years  my  senior,  but  we  were  both 
ordained  in  the  same  year — 1835 — he  in  January,  and 
I  in  August.  In  November,  1835,  we  were  both  pres- 
ent at  the  meeting  of  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention 
at  Shiloh  Church  in  the  near  neighborhood  of  Pen- 
field,  then  the  seat  of  the  Mercer  Institute.  That  was 
the  nrst  convention  in  which  I  ever  sat  as  a  member. 
It  was  a  very  important  occasion.  Mercer  Institute 
had  been  only  two  years  in  operation.  It  and  Judson's 
mission  in  Burma  were  the  topics  of  absorbing  in- 
terest. The  Institute  was  designed  to  encourage  the 
education  of  our  young  men  who  desired  to  enter  the 
ministry.  Of  course  the  time  and  place  demanded  a 
sermon  on  the  education  of  ministers,  and  Brother 
Dawson  was  called  upon  to  preach  it.  I  suppose  he 
was  the  most  recently  ordained  minister  in  the  house 
except  one,  and  that  one  was  myself,  and  yet  he  was 
selected  to  perform  that  important  service.  And,  if 
my  memory  is  not  at  fault,  he  did  not  know  till  he 
reached  the  Convention  that  he  would  be  called  upon 
for  such  an  effort.  Nevertheless  he  accepted  the  ap- 
pointment and  performed  the  duty  assigned  him  with 
such  success  as  fully  satisfied  his  friends  and  the  Con- 
vention. 

An  old  man  perhaps  would,  under  such  circum- 
stances, have  declined  the  appointment,  as  Dr.  Thomas 
Curtis  did,  not  quite  ten  years  later,  at  another  meeting 
of  the  Convention  with  the  church  at  Penfield  in  the 
same  neighborhood.  But  Brother  Dawson  did  not  fail. 
He  was  fortunate  in  possessing  just  such  qualifications 
as  fitted  him  for  just  such  an  emergency. 


62  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

He  had  a  clean-cut  perception  of  his  own  want  at 
that  very  time  of  a  Hberal  education.  He  had  the  sense 
to  know,  by  his  very  want  of  it,  what  must  be  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  wide  range  of  knowledge  to  the  minister 
of  the  gospel.  He  had  only  an  academic  education — 
very  good  as  far  as  it  went,  but  limited  in  its  range; 
and  up  to  the  time  that  he  was  baptized  he  had  done 
little  to  extend  it.  With  this  self-knowledge,  he  was 
prepared,  without  alluding  to  himself,  to  persuade  the 
four  or  five  hundred  people  before  him  that  the  best 
thing  they  could  do  for  their  children  was  to  educate 
them.  I  can  not  recall  his  lines  of  thought  or  his  il- 
lustrations, but,  though  he  did  not  fail,  his  sermon  was 
not  a  fair  specimen  of  his  great  ability. 

Doctor  Dawson  was  by  nature  an  orator.  He  was 
not  made  an  orator  by  the  training  of  the  schools ;  for 
of  this  he  had  very  little.  He  stood  before  his  audi- 
ence as  a  handsome  man,  with  graceful  movements  and 
with  an  exceedingly  expressive  countenance.  His 
voice  was  clear,  distinct,  flexible  and  melodious.  While 
speaking,  its  sweet  and  impressive  tones  faithfully  rep- 
resented all  the  pulsations  of  his  emotional  nature.  This 
made  him,  without  his  being  conscious  of  it,  a  most  ex- 
cellent elocutionist.  This  mere  elocution  was  wonder- 
ful, not  only  in  delivering  his  own  thoughts,  but 
also  in  giving  utterance  to  the  thoughts  of  others.  In 
quoting  a  text  of  Scripture,  for  instance,  his  inflections, 
his  emphasis,  his  pauses  and  his  tones  were  so  adjusted 
to  the  design  and  meaning  of  the  text  as  to  give  to  it  all 
its  intended  force. 

Another  element  of  his  oratory  was  his  pure  and 
almost  perfect  rhetoric.  Doctor  Dawson  seems  to  have 
been  endowed  by  nature  with  a  most  exquisite  taste. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  63 

It  ruled  his  judgments  of  the  "beautiful"  in  all  its 
forms.  He  therefore  comprehended  the  proprieties 
of  speech,  and  seldom  violated  them.  In  the  selection 
of  words  and  the  construction  of  sentences  few  writers 
or  speakers  can  be  found  more  correct  than  he. 

When  to  these  natural  endowments  we  add  what  the 
grace  of  God  had  done  for  him  in  giving  him,  by  his 
own  experience,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  moral 
and  spiritual  wants  of  his  fellow  creatures,  an  earnest 
desire  to  save  them  from  impending  ruin,  and  a  burn- 
ing zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  through  the  preached 
gospel,  we  can  see  that  Doctor  Dawson  was  possessed 
of  all  the  elements  that  were  needed  to  make  him  a 
great  and  influential  orator.  His  growth  in  the  minis- 
try was  rapid.  It  was  not  long  after  he  preached  that 
sermon  at  Shiloh  before  he  was  held  to  be  the  leading 
preacher  among  Georgia  Baptists. 

I  think  it  was  in  1853,  at  a  public  gathering  of  some 
sort  in  LaGrange,  I  heard  Brother  Dawson  preach  to  a 
very  large  audience.    His  text  was : 

"If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?"     (Job  xii.  14.) 

However  Job  may  have  intended  that  question  to 
be  answered,  one  thing  is  certain :  So  far  as  our 
present  responsibilities  are  concerned,  we  have  but  one 
life  in  which  to  meet  them.  This  was  the  preacher's 
theme.  His  analysis  of  the  subject  was  simple  but 
comprehensive : 

I.  We  have  only  one  life  on  this  earth.  This  topic 
was  treated  briefly,  only  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  our 
present  life,  short  as  it  may  be,  can  never  be  repeated. 
Therefore,  we  shall  have,  when  once  it  has  passed,  no 
opportunity  to  amend  its  errors,  or  to  escape  their  far- 
reaching  consequences.     Yet  into  this   short  life  are 


64  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

crowded  responsibilities  upon  whose  faithful  fulfilment 
depends  our  destiny  through  all  eternity. 

2.  The  extent  of  those  responsibilities.  They  in- 
clude all  the  duties  that  we  owe,  (i)  to  God,  our 
Father  in  Heaven;  (2)  to  our  fellow  creatures;  (3)  to 
ourselves,  and  (4)  to  our  children. 

It  was  in  unfolding  the  nature  and  the  magnitude  of 
these  responsibilities  that  Brother  Dawson's  effort 
reached,  on  that  occasion,  the  highest  powers  of  hu- 
man speech.  He  did  what  few  men  can  do ;  that  is, 
he  combined  in  one  sermon  all  the  elements  of  true 
oratory.  He  was  ornate  in  such  a  degree  that  the 
imagination  was  charmed ;  and  we  listened  to  his  beau- 
tiful words  as  one  may  listen  to  the  strains  of  magnifi- 
cent music.  He  was  argumentative — without  the  stiff- 
ness of  formal  logic ;  he  so  marshaled  his  array  of  facts 
as  to  afford  deductions  and  inferences  that  should  con- 
vince the  understanding  and  guide  the  judgment.  And 
then  he  was  persuasive.  In  view  of  the  solemn  respon- 
sibilities resting  upon  us,  which  he  had  most  forcibly 
presented,  he  did  not  fail  to  appeal,  in  words  of  pathos 
and  of  power,  to  every  class  of  the  people  before  him 
to  remember,  and,  with  all  their  strength,  to  fulfil,  the 
stupendous  obligations  that  bound  them — pressing 
upon  their  hearts  the  fearful  truth  that  we  have  but  one 
life  in  which  we  can  meet  them,  in  which  we  can  do  our 
duty — if  we  fail  now,  we  fail  forever. 

Was  Brother  Dawson's  sermon  which  I  have  above 
described  an  exceptionally  good  one  for  him  to  preach  ? 
By  no  means;  it  was  only  one  of  hundreds  just  like  it. 
I  wish  I  had  space  to  tell  of  other  cases  in  which  he 
moved  his  hearers  as  the  wind  moves  the  standing 
corn.  May  our  young  brethren  catch  his  spirit  and 
emulate  his  zeal. 


CHAPTER  V. 


SECTION  ONE. 
THOMAS   COOPER. 

In  presenting  to  our  readers  a  notice  of  a  Baptist 
deacon,  it  may  be  well  to  set  forth  the  qualifications 
which  should  be  found  in  a  deacon.  Paul  (I.  Tim. 
iii.),  having  first  given  the  qualifications  that  should 
be  found  in  a  bishop  or  pastor,  proceeds  to  tell  us  what 
sort  of  a  man  a  deacon  should  be.     He  says : 

"In  like  manner  deacons  should  be  grave,  not  double- 
tongued,  not  given  to  much  wine,  not  greedy  of 
filthy  lucre ;  holding  the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a  pure 
conscience.  .  .  .  Let  deacons  be  husbands  of  one 
wife,  ruling  their  children  and  their  own  houses  well. 
For  they  that  have  served  well  as  deacons  gain  to 
themselves  a  good  standing,  and  great  boldness  in  the 
faith  which  is  in  Chrisit  Jesus."     (R.  V.) 

These  words  of  Paul  are  simple,  clear,  and  explicit. 
They  teach  that  a.  deacon  should  be  a  man  of  unblem- 
ished moral  character,  and  of  great  boldness  in  the 
faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Just  such  a  man  was  Deacon  Thomas  Cooper,  of  the 
Eatonton  Baptist  church.  He  was  an  old  man  when 
I  first  became  acquainted  with  him,  in  1829.  He  was 
then  living  in  Eatonton.  His  parents  came  to  Geor- 
gia from  Virginia  and  settled  in  Hancock  County. 
He  belonged  to  that  generation  of  Baptists  that  came 
down  to  us  from  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury.    I  do  not  know  his  age ;  but  in  1829  I  suppose 

65 


66  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

he  must  have  been  at  least  sixty  years  old.  He  was, 
therefore  'contemporary  with  the  Marshalls  and  the 
Mercers,  the  elder  Brantly  and  Adiel  Sherwood  and 
with  other  fathers  of  that  era. 

His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah 
Harvey,  of  Hancock  County.  He  was  the  father  of 
Hon.  Mark  A.  Cooper,  whose  name  was  for  half 
a  century  a  household  word  in  the  homes  of  Georgia; 
for  it  was  a  name  that  stood  for  purity  in  patriotism, 
for  wisdom  in  statesmanship,  and  for  nobility  in  per- 
sonal character.  I  think  he  was  the  only  son  of  his 
father.  But  he  had  quite  a  large  family  of  his  own. 
His  eldest  son,  Frederick,  was  a  sterling  member  of 
the  Baptist  church  of  Rome  while  I  was  its  pastor. 
He  was  killed  in  the  war,  leaving  his  wife  with  three 
little  boys,  Paul,  PVederick,  and  Walter.  His  brother, 
Thomas,  also  died  early,  leaving  his  wife,  one  daughter, 
who  became  Mrs.  Saunders,  and  two  sons,  one  of 
whom  is  now  Dr.  Hunter  Cooper,  of  Atlanta,  and  the 
other  Mr.  Thomas  Cooper,  of  Decatur,  Georgia.  Col- 
onel M.  A.  Cooper  had  also  several  daughters,  two  of 
whom,  I  know,  still  survive  him.  One  is  Mrs.  William 
A.  Pope,  of  Washington,  and  the  other  is  Miss  Rosa 
Cooper,  of  Atlanta.  They  are  ladies  of  earnest  piety 
and  active  in  all  church  work. 

Deacon  Cooper  had  three  daughters.  One  was  Mrs. 
John  Nisbet,  of  Athens,  and  some  of  her  descendants 
are  still  living  in  that  beautiful  city.  Another  daughter 
was  Mrs.  Samuel  Boykin,  formerly  of  Milledgeville. 
She  was  the  mother  of  Rev.  Samuel  Boykin  and  his 
brother.  Rev.  T.  C.  Boykin,  who  have  been,  for  manj 
years,  faithful  and  useful  laborers  in  all  our  denomi- 
national enterprises,  to  the  extent  of  their  opportunity. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  67 

The  third  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Joel  Branham, 
of  Eatonton.  She  was  the  mother  of  Hon.  Joel  Bran- 
ham,  of  Rome,  Ga.,  and  of  Rev.  I.  R.  Branham,  latelj 
deceased,  whose  consecrated  life  won  the  confidence 
and  love  of  all  who  knew  him. 

Having  presented  the  foregoing  glimpses  of  his 
family,  it  is  time  to  consider  more  fully  the  man  him- 
self. 

His  religion  was  not  a  dress  suit  hidden  away  in 
some  dark  closet  to  be  donned  on  Sunday  for  a  dress 
parade  at  church.  No,  verily,  his  religion  was  a  seam- 
less vesture,  clean  and  white,  which  enveloped  his 
whole  character  through  every  step  of  his  daily  life. 
Whether  at  his  fireside,  or  on  the  street,  or  in  the 
court-house,  or  in  the  grand- jury  room — always  and 
everywhere — his  religion  was  his  daily  dress. 

Baptists  are  noted  for  the  great  stress  which  they 
give,  or  at  any  rate,  profess  to  give,  to  what  we  call  the 
Christian's  experience.  Brother  Cooper's  religion,  as 
above  explained,  would  imply  that  he  must  have  had 
a  clear  and  profound  impression  of  its  reality  and  its 
power.  He  never  told  me  his  experience  in  terms,  and 
yet  in  conversation  I,  young  as  I  was,  could  notice  that 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  use  his  experience  to  guide  him 
along  certain  lines  of  religious  thought,  or  to  help  him 
to  understand  the  Scriptures  in  certain  cases.  I  re- 
member, we  were  discussing  a  question  of  interpreta- 
tion, about  which  some  people,  at  that  time,  were  hold- 
ing, as  we  thought,  erroneous  opinions.  Brother 
Cooper  defended  the  Baptist  view  of  the  case,  and  then 
clinched  the  argument  by  saying,  in  substance,  ''and 
this  interpretation  agrees  with  the  Christian's  expe- 
rience." Whether  the  thought  of  using  our  experience 

6 


68  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

as  a  help  to  understand  the  Scriptures  had  ever  oc- 
curred to  me  before  I  can  not,  at  this  late  day,  positively 
affirm.  But  one  thing  I  know.  The  way  he  put  it 
impressed  the  thought  upon  my  mind,  and  it  has  been 
to  me  as  a  pearl  of  great  value.  In  after  years  I  was 
able  to  expand  the  thought  till  I  reached  the  conclu- 
sion, which  I  think  is  held  by  the  orthodox  divines, 
that  the  Christian's  experience  not  only  helps  him  to 
understand  the  Scriptures,  but  it  is,  for  him,  the  su- 
preme evidence  that  they  are  of  God  and  not  of  men. 
All  of  this  may  be  summed  up  in  one  brief  sentence — 
the  Christian's  experience  is  the  best  proof  of  Chris- 
tianity.   Such  it  was  to  Deacon  Thomas  Cooper. 

We  have  already  noticed  Brother  Cooper's  qualifica- 
tions for  the  important  office  which  he  held.  They 
made  him  the  pastor's  right-hand  man.  Oh !  I  remem- 
ber, when  Brother  Dawson  was  pastor,  how  he  leaned 
on  his  aged  deacon.  But  he  was  also  a  wise  counselor 
in  the  conference,  and  a  faithful  servant  of  the  church 
in  all  its  enterprises  and  its  charities.  Brother  Cooper 
stood  as  a  common  referee  among  his  brethren.  What 
would  our  churches  be  if  all  their  deacons  were  just 
such  men  as  the  scriptures  require  them  to  be,  and  as 
the  example  of  Deacon  Cooper  shows  they  might  be? 
My  brother,  are  you  a  deacon?  Then  let  me  say  to 
you,  for  Jesus'  sake,  give  all  diligence  to  fill  up  the 
measure  of  your  duty  in  the  sacred  office  which  you 
hold.  But  while  I  say  this,  I  am  glad  to  hope  that 
many  are  trying  to  do  their  duty.  Indeed,  I  am  sure  of 
this.  God  bless  you,  and  give  you  "great  boldness  in 
the  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Brother  Cooper,  like  Brother  B.  M.  Sanders,  de- 
voted, for  a  time,  one-tenth  of  his  income  to  benevo- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  69 

lent  and  charitable  works.  As  the  Lord  prospered  him 
he  gradually  increased  his  donations,  first  to  twelve 
per  cent.,  then  to  fifteen  per  cent.,  and  at  last  to  twenty- 
five  per  cent. — equal  to  one-fourth  of  his  income.  This 
he  continued  till  his  death. 

I  learned  these  facts  in  a  recent  letter  from  Brother 
T.  C.  Boykin,  the  grandson  of  Brother  Cooper.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  letter  that  Brother  Sanders  and  Brother 
Cooper  agreed  together  on  the  mode  of  contributing  to 
the  work  of  the  Lord.  Each  increased  his  per  cent,  as 
the  Lord  prospered  him.  Was  any  man  ever  made  a 
pauper  by  giving  to  the  Lord  ?  I  don't  believe  it.  On 
the  contrary,  a  dollar  given  to  the  Lord  is  one  dollar 
which  the  giver  can  never  lose. 

I  must  mention  one  more  instance  of  Brother  Coop- 
er's liberality,  as  given  in  Brother  Boykin's  letter. 
When  our  brother.  Rev.  J.  H.  Campbell,  was  trying, 
in  his  early  youth,  to  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry^ 
Brother  Cooper  took  him  into  his  house  and  gave  him 
his  board  for  a  whole  year  that  he  might  study  theology 
under  Doctor  Sherwood,  who  was  at  that  time  living 
in  the  near  neighborhood,  where  he  was  teaching  a 
theological  class.  This  benefit  bore  fruit  in  the  useful 
life  of  Dr.  Jesse  H.  Campbell. 

In  1843  Brother  Cooper  died.  That  year  the  Cen- 
tral Association  met  with  a  church  not  far  from  Eaton- 
ton.  The  delegation  was  full,  and  several  visitors 
were  present.  On  the  first  day  of  the  meeting  it  hap- 
pened that  Brother  Campbell  was  to  follow  the  brother 
who  was  appointed  to  preach.  When  the  sermon  was 
over  he  rose  in  the  pulpit,  but  instead  of  following  the 
sermon  he  took  a  theme  of  his  own.  In  a  feeling  way 
he  alluded  to  several  recent  deaths  in  the  churches  of 


7©  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  Association.  Among  them  was  Deacon  Thomas 
Cooper.  He  had  been  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Association.  For  years  he  had  been  one  of  its  wisest 
counselors  and  one  of  its  most  liberal  benefactors.  It 
was  well  for  Brother  Campbell  to  pay  a  merited  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  good  man  whom  all 
his  brethren  loved  so  well. 


SECTION  TWO. 
JOHN  B.  WALKER. 

In  the  year  1784  or  1785,  not  long  after  Cornwallis 
had  delivered  his  sword  to  Washington,  there  was  a 
group  of  emigrants  at  Yorktown.  Among  them  were 
the  families  of  Edniond  Byne  and  Robert  Carlton.  In 
the  harbor  lay  the  brig  Nancy,  about  to  sail  for  Savan- 
nah, Georgia.  Aboard  that  ship  the  emigrants,  with 
their  children,  servants  and  household  goods,  took  pas- 
sage for  their  new  homes  in  Georgia. 

Mr.  Byne's  family  included  his  wife  and  his  chil- 
dren, among  whom  were  two  daughters.  Mr.  Carlton's 
family  also  included  his  wife  and  several  children, 
among  whom  were,  at  least,  three  daughters.  The 
heads  of  these  families  were  already  members  of  Bap- 
tist churches  and  were  people  of  sincere  and  earnest 
piety. 

When  all  things  were  ready  the  ship  weighed  anchor 
and  passed  down  the  Chesapeake  and  out  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  broad  Atlantic.  The  wind  was  favor- 
able, and  the  day  was  promising.  The  passengers 
were  full  of  hope,  expecting  to  reach  Savannah  in 
three  days. 

But  hardly  twenty-four  hours  had  passed  before  the 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  71 

weather  changed.  In  a  Httle  while  a  dreadful  storm 
struck  the  ship.  It  dared  not  hug  the  shore,  for  fear  of 
the  breakers  along  the  Carolina  coast.  Its  only  safety 
was  the  open  sea.  Thus  it  was  carried  far  away  from 
its  proper  course.  For  days  and  weeks  the  storm,  with 
only  partial  intervals,  continued  to  rage.  I  never  saw  a 
storm  at  sea ;  therefore,  I  can  not  describe  it.  My 
grandmother,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  Carlton, 
a  young  lady  of  about  eighteen  summers,  was  an  eye- 
witness of  all  the  horrors  that  threatened  for  weeks 
the  safety  of  the  ship  and  the  lives  of  the  passengers. 
From  her  lips  I  heard  the  fearful  story.  One  night  it 
seemed  as  if  the  time  of  the  end  had  come.  The  pas- 
sengers were  lying  in  their  berths  enduring  as  well  as 
they  could  the  peril  of  the  hour,  when  suddenly  the 
ship  careened  so  much  that  it  seemed  to  be  falling  on 
its  side.  It  was  then  the  voice  of  one  of  those  pious 
men  was  heard,  amidst  the  howling  winds,  saying: 
"Lord,  help  us  up,"  and  straightway  the  ship  was  set 
upright,  and  that  danger  was  passed.  Was  this  coin- 
cidence, between  the  earnest  prayer  to  God  and  the  re- 
lief which  followed,  due  to  the  action  only  of  unknown 
''second  causes"  ?  Subsequent  events  proved  that  God 
had  use  for  at  least  some  of  those  passengers  and 
therefore  preserved  them.  I  can  not  linger  longer 
upon  this  memorable  voyage.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the 
brig  Nancy,  after  five  full  weeks  of  storm  and  peril, 
dropped  her  anchor  in  the  river  in  front  of  the  city  of 
Savannah. 

After  a  short  delay  in  Savannah,  Mr.  Byne  and  Mr. 
Carlton,  with  their  families,  proceeded  up  the  country 
to  their  destined  homes.  Mr.  Byne  settled  in  Burke 
County,  where,  after  a  time,  he  was  ordained  to  the 


72  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Baptist  ministry,  and  Mr,  Carlton  settled  in  Wilkes, 
near  Broad  River. 

In  these  preliminary  paragraphs  I  have  made  spe- 
cial mention  of  Mr.  Byne  and  Mr.  Carlton,  because 
they  were  both  Baptists ;  they  were  from  the  same 
county,  King  and  Queen,  in  Virginia;  their  families 
were  intimately  associated  in  their  fearful  voyage  to 
Savannah ;  and,  finally,  because  both  families  have  left 
descendants  in  Georgia,  many  of  whom  are  Baptists, 

One  of  the  daughters  of  Mr.  Byne  married  a  Mr. 
Walker.  I  am  sorry  that  I  can  not  give  the  first  name 
of  either  of  the  parties.  Tbey  made  their  home  in 
Morgan  County,  where  they  raised  a  family  of  three 
sons  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the  sons  was  John 
Byne  Walker,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

With  his  early  years  I  was  not  acquainted.  He  was 
a  married  man  and  a  member  of  the  church  when  I 
first  knew  him.  He  was  a  large  planter  and  lived,  for 
a  time,  on  his  estate  in  the  country ;  but  after  a  while  he 
built  an  elegant  house  for  his  family  in  the  suburbs  of 
Madison,  that  they  might  enjoy  better  social  and  re- 
ligious privileges  than  they  could  find  in  the  country. 
They  also  transferred  their  church  membership  from 
Indian  Creek  to  the  church  in  Madison,  with  which 
their  subsequent  lives  were  identified.  In  his  new 
home  Brother  Walker  was  surrounded  with  all  that 
was  needful  to  insure  him  and  his  family  a  large 
degree  of  domestic  happiness,  and  he  and  his  noble 
wife  dispensed  a  wide  hospitality. 

But  it  was  in  Brother  Walker's  religious  life  that  I 
knew  him  best.  I  was  for  two  years  his  pastor.  I 
had  known  him,  to  some  extent,  before;  but  as  his 
pastor  I  knew  him  in  his  home  and  in  the  church.    As 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  73 

a  church  member  he  was  punctual  and  faithful  to  meet 
all  that  was  required  of  him.  I  really  can  not  recall 
one  single  time  that  he  failed  to  be  present  at  a  public 
service  of  the  church,  except  when  he  was  absent  from 
home.  He  was  not  used  to  speaking  in  public,  yet  in 
conference  he  would  speak  on  any  matter  of  business 
with  great  clearness  and  with  sound  judgment.  Hence 
he  was  listened  to  as  a  safe  adviser ;  and  in  prayer- 
meeting  he  would,  when  called  on,  lead  in  prayer.  And 
he  was  liberal  in  giving  to  all  the  charities  of  the 
church.  Now,  John  B.  Walker  was  a  rich  man,  and 
some  may  say  that  he  could  afford  to  be  liberal.  Very 
true ;  but  how  manv  thousands  are  there  who  can  afford 
to  give,  some  more  and  some  less,  who  never  give  a 
cent?  When  Doctor  Mallary  was  collecting  the  first 
endowment  for  Mercer  University  (I  think  that  was 
the  time),  Brother  Walker  gave  his  note  bearing  in- 
terest at  eight  per  cent,  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
And  he  paid  that  note. 

Brother  Walker  loved  his  brethren.  Hence  he  was 
often  present  at  our  religious  convocations.  I  remem- 
ber once,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Central  Association,  the 
colporter  was  making  his  report.  The  incidents  he 
told  were  intensely  interesting.  He  told  of  meeting 
one  old  man  who  was  so  blind  that  he  could  not  read  a 
com.mon  Bible.  He  needed  one  of  large  type,  but  the 
cost  of  such  a  one  in  those  days  was  very  high — far 
beyond  the  poor  man's  means.  The  colporter  had  none 
to  give  him.  He  told  this  story  with  a  pathos  that 
went  to  every  heart.  Brother  Walker  met  the  case 
practically ;  he  told  the  colporter  to  get  just  such  a 
Bible  as  the  old  man  needed  and  he  would  "foot  the 


74  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

bill."     Such  a  man  was  John  B.  Walker — a  faithful, 
Christian  and  an  earnest  Baptist. 

But  the  closing  years  of  his  life  were  sad.  Three 
of  his  children  died  soon  after  they  were  grown.  Then 
his  wife  was  taken  away  also,  and  his  other  children 
were  separated  from  him.  In  the  meantime,  as  an  ef- 
fect of  the  war,  he  was  reduced  to  poverty.  He  left 
his  elegant  home  and  lived  almost  alone  in  a  humble 
cottage  only  a  few  miles  from  his  former  residence. 
He  was  then  very  old,  but  his  faith  in  God  was  never 
shaken. 

A  friend,  who  knew  him  in  his  prosperity,  when  with 
him  not  long  before  he  died,  alluded  sympathetically 
to  his  heavy  losses.  "Yes,"  said  this  asfed  saint.  "I 
have  lost  all,  except  what  I  have  given  away."  What  he 
had  given  away  he  had  given  to  the  Lord.  That,  he 
knew,  was  still  to  his  credit.  One  might  preach  a  ser- 
mon upon  his  words,  "I  have  lost  all,  except  what  I 
have  given  away." 

In  conclusion,  let  me  add  a  few  more  words  about 
the  Byne  and  Carlton  families.  Mr.  Byne's  other 
daughter,  Anne,  married  Mr.  Harris,  of  Baldwin 
County.  Tliey  had  one  son  and  two  daughters.  Their 
son  was  Hon.  Iverson  L.  Harris,  who  sat  for  a  time  as 
one  of  the  judges  of  our  Supreme  Court.  A  daughter 
of  Mrs.  Harris  married  Mr.  Hansell.  He  was  the 
father  of  General  Andrew  Hansell,  who  was  the  father 
of  Captain  William  A.  Hansell,  of  Atlanta,  and  his 
daughter,  Lela,  is  now  the  wife  of  my  son,  L.  P.  Hill- 
yer,  of  Macon.  Mr.  Carlton's  eldest  daughter  became 
Rebecca  Matthews.  She  was  the  mother  of  two  Bap- 
tist preachers — Phillip  and  James  Matthews,  Jr.  Mr. 
Carlton's  voungest  daughter  married  John  Freeman,  a 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  75 

soldier  of  the  Revolution.  She  had  one  daughter,  who 
married  Shaler  Hillyer,  who  was  the  father  of  Rev.  J. 
F.  Hillyer,  Hon.  Junius  Hillyer,  and  myself. 

One  of  my  sons,  Rev.  J.  L.  D.  Hillyer,  is  a  preacher. 
So  the  Carlton  family  sent  out  five  Baptist  preachers 
for  Georgia. 

Finally,  I  have  in  Macon  a  little  grandson,  Hansell 
Towers  Hillyer,  who,  on  his  father's  side,  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Robert  Carlton,  and  on  his  mother's  side 
is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Edmond  Byne.  Thus  these 
two  families,  a  hundred  years  after  the  voyage  of  the 
brig  Nancy,  became  connected  by  marriage. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


SECTION  ONE. 
TRAIL  CREEK  CHURCH. 

Trail  Creek  Meeting-house  stood  in  a  grove  of  oaks 
on  the  roadside,  two  miles  east  of  Athens,  which  was 
built  on  the  west  side  of  the  Oconee  River. 

Exactly  when  the  church  was  organized  I  do  not 
know.  I  first  became  acquainted  with  it  in  1822,  when 
I  was  about  thirteen  years  old. 

The  membership  of  Trail  Creek  church  was  com- 
posed chiefiy  of  people  who  lived  round  about  it  in  the 
country  upon  their  farms.  A  few  others  may  have 
been  engaged  in  various  mechanical  trades.  These  two 
classes,  including,  of  course,  such  members  of  their 
families,  both  males  and  females,  as  had  professed 
conversion,  constituted  the  main  body  of  the  church. 
These  were  all  plain  people.  Their  education  was 
limited  to  such  as  they  had  obtained  in  the  "old-field 
schools"  of  that  day.  In  addition,  however,  to  these 
there  were  a  few  lady  members  from  the  town  of  Ath- 
ens. At  that  time  there  was  no  Baptist  church  in  Ath- 
ens. Hence  the  ladies  referred  to,  being  true  to  their 
Baptist  faith,  identified  themselves  with  their  brethren 
and  sisters  in  the  country  church  that  was  nearest  to 
them. 

Another  element  of  the  membership  was  made 
up  of  colored  people  from  the  neighboring  plan- 
tations and  possibly  some  from  the  town  of  Athens. 
Let    it    never    be    forgotten    that    the    Christian    peo- 

76 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  77 

pie  of  the  South  were  not  then,  and  are  not  now, 
unmindful  of  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  colored  peo- 
ple. In  "ante-bellum  times"  nearly  all  our  churches 
included  a  full  proportion  of  colored  members.  Pro- 
vision was  made  for  their  accommodation  in  our  meet- 
ing-houses. On  baptismal  occasions,  it  was  perfectly  in 
order  for  white  and  colored  candidates  to  meet  at  the 
same  water,  and  be  baptized  by  the  same  pastor.  In 
the  house  of  God,  they  listened  to  the  same  sermon  and 
when  the  time  for  the  memorial  supper  came  they  par- 
took together  of  the  sacred  elements.  In  all  this.  Trail 
Creek  was  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  We  would 
have  these  facts  remembered  by  our  descendants  as  an 
offset  to  the  severe  denunciations  which  have  been 
poured  out  upon  Southern  Christians  on  account  of 
their  connection  with  slavery. 

The  preachers  who  served  this  church  were, 
with  only  one  or  two  exceptions  in  later  times, 
plain  men  with  but  little  education.  The  first  one  I 
remember  was  Mr.  Goss.  I  think  his  first  name  was 
Isham.  He  was  the  pastor,  if  I  remember  correctly,  in 
1822.  He  was  then  an  old  man.  Some  of  his  sons  fol- 
lowed in  his  footsteps  and  became  Baptist  preachers. 
Another  pastor,  whom  I  knew  much  better  than  I  did 
Mr.  Goss,  was  Rev.  Jack  Lumpkin.  He  was  a  brother 
to  Chief  Justice  Joseph  H.  Lumpkin  and  Governor 
Wilson  Lumpkin.  His  education,  like  most  of  our 
Georgia  preachers  of  that  day,  was  very  limited.  But 
he  was  a  man  of  good  practical  sense,  and  of  deep 
piety  and  earnest  zeal. 

These  preachers  had  never  heard  of  the  "higher 
criticism."  They  knew  nothing  of  church  history.  But 
they  knew  Christ  and  him  crucified,  and  were  well  ac- 


78  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

quainted  with  all  the  steps  of  the  Giristain's  expe- 
rience. These  themes  they  could  unfold  to  their  hear- 
ers in  such  terms  as  at  once  to  allure  the  ungodly  and 
to  comfort  the  saint  in  all  his  perplexities  and  doubts. 
Then  in  their  social  relations  there  was  a  beautiful  se- 
renity and  at  the  same  time  a  seriousness  of  manner 
that  spoke  of  Jesus  and  his  love  to  every  beholder. 

I  remember,  on  one  occasion,  Mr.  Lumpkin  came  to 
spend  the  night  at  our  house.  My  mother  and  grand- 
mother were  glad  to  see  him.  He  was  their  pastor. 
After  supper,  the  evening  was  spent  in  religious  con- 
versation, and  closed  with  family  worship.  Next 
morning,  it  happened  that  I  was  sitting  with  Mr. 
Uumpkin  by  the  fire.  Presently  he  leaned  toward 
me,  and,  placing  his  hand  upon  my  knee,  he  tenderly 
exhorted  me  to  seek  the  Savior.  I  can  not  recall  his 
words ;  but,  though  they  produced  no  practical  effect 
at  the  time,  yet  seventy  years  have  not  effaced  from 
my  memory  that  gentle  touch,  that  earnest  face  and 
that  kind,  though  brief  appeal.  And  in  years  long  af- 
terwards I  have  thought  how  well  it  would  be  if  our 
pastors  would,  in  like  manner,  watch  for  opportunities 
to  allure  the  young  to  Christ.  It  was  that  good  man. 
Rev.  Jack  Lumpkin,  who  baptized,  in  1826,  my  broth- 
er, Judge  Junius  Hillyer. 

In  Trail  Creek  church  was  an  old  man,  whom  I  will 
call  Brother  A.  He  was  not  smart  or  gifted,  though 
he  sometimes  tried  to  preach ;  but  his  brethren  loved 
him  for  his  blameless  life  and  his  earnest  piety.  He 
lived  by  cultivating  a  small  farm,  which  yielded  barely 
enough  to  support  his  family  in  a  very  humble  way. 

In  a  neighboring  church  about  ten  miles  distant  was 
another  old  man,  whom  I  will  call  Brother  B.     With 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  79 

him  I  had  no  personal  acquaintance ;  but  I  suppose  he, 
too,  was  in  good  standing  with  his  church. 

It  came  to  pass  that  Brother  B.'s  son  married 
Brother  A.'s  daughter.  The  young  people  lived  in  a 
cottage  to  themselves,  depending  for  a  support  on  the 
products  of  a  small  farm.  They  had  not  thus  lived 
very  long  before  the  husband  lost,  in  the  early  spring, 
his  only  plow  nag  and  he  had  not  money  to  buy  another. 
Without  a  horse  it  was  impossible  to  make  a  crop. 

In  this  crisis  Brother  A.  gave  to  his  daughter  a  pony, 
with  which  the  husband  might  save  his  crop.  This 
relieved  the  situation  for  the  present.  But  not  longer, 
perhaps,  than  a  few  months  later,  the  husband  him- 
self died,  and  left  his  wife  a  widow.  To  add  to  her 
affliction,  her  husband's  creditors,  by  due  process  of 
law,  under  the  statute  that  was  in  force  in  those  days, 
levied  upon  the  pony  and  had  him  sold  at  auction. 
Then  Brother  B.,  the  father-in-law,  at  the  sale  bought 
the  pony  and  gave  it  back  to  the  widow  of  his  son. 
Now,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  matter  led  to  a 
falling  out  between  those  two  old  men.  Brother  A. 
had  said  to  various  persons  that  he  had  given  the  pony 
to  his  daughter.  On  the  other  hand.  Brother  B. 
claimed  that  it  was  he  who  gave  the  pony  to  the  widow, 
and  upon  this  ground  Brother  A.  was  charged  with 
falsehood. 

This  charge  became  known  to  the  Trail  Creek 
church,  and  they  took  Brother  A.  under  dealing. 
When  the  trial  came  on,  Brother  B.  and  his  daughter- 
in-law  were  both  on  hand.  Brother  A.  was  deeply 
affected.  When  called  on,  all  he  was  able  to  say  was 
that  he  did  give  the  pony  to  his  daughter,  and  he 
should  stand  to  it.     At  length  the  young  widow  was 


8o  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

called  on  to  state  who  gave  her  the  pony.  She  replied 
that  her  father-in-law  had  given  it  to  her.  This  testi- 
mony seemed  decisive.  And  poor  old  Brother  A.  was 
convicted  of  lying,  by  the  testimony  of  his  own  daugh- 
ter.    Whereupon  he  was  excluded. 

But  the  female  members,  almost  unanimously,  were 
shocked  and  grieved  by  the  action  of  the  church.  The 
intelligent  sisters,  who  were  from  Athens,  were  espe- 
cially grieved,  because  they  saw  how  easily  all  the  facts 
could  be  explained  so  as  to  show  that  Brother  A.'s  as- 
sertion was  true,  as  he  understood  it,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  was  true  that  Brother  B.  had  also,  on 
another  occasion,  given  the  same  pony  to  his  daughter- 
in-law.  But  there  was  not  a  male  member  present 
who  could  make  the  explanation — that  is,  no  one  saw 
the  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  Brother  A.  himself,  per- 
haps because  he  was  so  overcome  by  his  feelings,  could 
not  defend  himself. 

But  those  Athens  sisters  would  not  give  up  the  mat- 
ter. In  a  few  days  they  took  counsel  together  and  re- 
solved that  at  the  next  conference  they  would  ask  per- 
mission to  express  their  views  of  the  case. 

They  then  selected  Mrs.  Franklin,  one  of  their  num- 
ber, to  be  their  spokesman.  Accordingly  at  the  ne,xt 
conference,  when  the  place  for  miscellaneous  business 
was  reached,  Mrs.  Franklin  arose  and,  having  obtained 
permission,  addressed  the  church.  I  was  not  present, 
and  will  not  try  to  report  her  speech. 

But  its  effect  upon  the  church  was  decisive.  She 
made  it  plain  that,  if  the  father-in-law  did,  after  the 
sale,  give  back  the  pony  to  his  daughter-in-law, 
Brother  A.,  on  a  previous  occasion,  had  given  the  same 
pony  to  his  daughter,  and  therefore  he  was  not  guilty 
of  falsehood. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  8i 

The  brethren  saw  their  mistake,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes Brother  A.  was  unanimously  restored  to  fellow- 
ship, to  the  great  joy  of  the  church. 

Now,  who  were  these  sisters  that  were  thus  instru- 
mental in  vindicating  an  injured  brother  and  in  restor- 
ing the  harmony  of  the  church?  They  were  of  that 
little  group,  already  referred  to,  who  lived  in  Athens. 
One  of  them  was  Mrs.  Lee  Franklin,  the  mother  of 
Mrs.  Governor  McDonald,  of  this  State.  Another  was 
Mrs.  John  Cobb,  the  mother  of  Generals  Howell  and 
T.  R.  R.  Cobb.  Two  others  were  my  own  mother 
and  grandmother.  Then  there  was  Mrs.  Jones  and 
Mrs.  Milledge,  the  wife  of  Governor  Milledge,  though 
I  am  not  sure  that  she  was  on  hand  at  the  time  of  our 
story.     If  not,  she  joined  the  group  only  a  little  later. 

Was  it  not  a  good  work  that  the  sisters  accomplished  ? 
And  does  it  not  prove  that  the  female  member- 
ship of  our  churches  can  occasionally  rise  above  the 
conventionalities  that  so  embarrass  them  even  in  church 
affairs,  and  thus  prove  themselves  a  blessing  to 
churches  and  society? 


SECTION   TWO. 

THE  SUNBURY  BAPTIST   CHURCH — CHARLES  O.    SCREVEN 
SAMUEL  S.  LAW. 

Sunbury  was  settled  in  1758,  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  years  ago.  It  was  located  on  the  north- 
east border  of  Liberty  County,  upon  a  high  bluff  that 
is  washed  by  Midway  River.  That  bluff  fronts  nearly 
east,  so  that  one  standing  upon  it  can  look  down  the 
wide  river  out  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  twelve  miles 


82  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

aistant.  A  more  beautiful  view  of  land  and  water  can 
hardly  be  found  along  our  Georgia  seaboard. 

Sunbury  once  promised  to  be  more  prosperous  than 
it  afterwards  proved  to  be.  In  the  beginning  of  this 
or  the  close  of  the  last  century,  square-rigged  vessels 
were  often  seen  in  its  beautiful  harbor. 

But  it  was  not  able  to  compete  with  its  elder  sister, 
Savannah.  Moreover,  it  was  soon  discovered  that  the 
water  over  its  bar  was  too  shallow  to  admit  larger 
vessels ;  so  its  commercial  advantages  dwindled  away 
to  almost  nothing. 

For  these  reasons  the  population  never,  perhaps,  ex- 
ceeded five  hundred  white  citizens.  These  were,  for 
the  most  part,  people  whose  plantations,  scattered 
around  on  both  sides  of  Midway  River,  afforded  them 
the  means  of  living  together  in  Sunbury  for  the  sake  of 
social,  educational,  and  religious  privileges. 

In  the  year  1801,  there  was  not  a  Baptist  in  Sun- 
bury. The  religious  part  of  the  community  were 
members  of  the  Congregational  church  that  worshiped 
at  Medway  Meeting-house  ten  miles  from  the  village. 

Chas.  0.  Screven. 

A  little  later  than  1801,  Mr.  Charles  O.  Screven  be- 
came a  citizen  of  Sunbury.  He  inherited  a  fine  estate. 
It  lay  across  the  river  in  Bryan  County  almost  in  sight 
of  the  town.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  education,  of  deep 
piety,  and  a  Baptist ;  and  he  had  also  been  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Baptist  church  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  As  he  looked  around  upon  the  condition  of 
things  in  Sunbury,  his  spirit  had  no  rest.  He  soon 
made  arrangements  to  preach  to  the  people.  This  he 
continued    for    a    season;    but   being   only  a  licensed 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  83 

preacher,  he  concluded  to  apply  for  ordination  to  the 
church  in  Charleston  of  which,  I  suppose,  he  was  still  a 
member.  Accordingly  he  was  ordained  by  authority  of 
that  church,  and  returned  to  Sunbury  fully  authorized 
to  perform  all  the  functions  of  a  gospel  minister. 

His  labors  were  unremitting.  His  first  converts 
were  several  negroes.  But  there  was  no  Baptist  church 
at  that  time,  perhaps,  nearer  than  Savannah  which  they 
could  join.  He  therefore  sent  for  Mr.  Clay,  who  was 
then  pastor  of  the  church  in  Savannah,  to  come  out  to 
Sunbury  and  help  him  with  his  presence  and  his  coun- 
sel. These  two  ministers  examined  the  colored  con- 
verts and  decided  that  they  should  be  baptized.  And 
Mr.  Screven  performed  the  service.  Other  colored 
converts  were  soon  added  to  these,  and  in  about  two 
years  seventy  persons  were  baptized,  among  whom 
were  only  two  whites — Mr.  Jacob  Dunham  and  his 
wife. 

With  these  converts,  all  being  colored  people  ex- 
cept two,  the  Sunbury  Baptist  church  was  constituted. 
Exactly  at  what  date  this  was  done  I  do  not  find 
distinctly  stated,  but  I  infer  it  was  somewhere  between 
1806  and  18 10.  The  white  element  in  the  church  be- 
gan to  increase,  and  in  a  few  years  it  included  a  goodly 
number  of  intelligent  white  people. 

I  did  not  know  Dr.  Charles  O.  Screven  personally. 
He  died  in  July,  1830,  and  my  acquaintance  with  the 
Sunbury  church  began  in  January,  1832,  about  eigh- 
teen months  after  his  death.  But  I  knew  Mrs.  Screven, 
who  survived  him  many  years.  I  knew  also  his  sons 
and  daughters,  and  many  whom  he  had  baptized ;  and 
among  these  was  Rev.  J.  H.  Campbell,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  much  of  what  has  been  said  about  Dr. 
Screven  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs. 


84  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

In  1832  Sunbury  was  a  small  village.  There  were 
probably  not  more  than  two  hundred  people  that  were 
actual  residents.  These  were  divided,  religiously,  be- 
.tween  the  Congregationalists  and  Baptists.  The 
former  were  still  members  of  Medway  Church.  The 
Baptists  had  their  meeting-house  in  the  village. 

They  were  not  numerous,  for,  leaving  out  the  colored 
people,  the  whole  white  membership  was  very  small. 
But  of  these  there  were  quite  a  number  who  richly  de- 
served to  be  remembered.  The  oldest  one  of  this  in- 
teresting group  was 

Samuel  S.  Lazv. 

There  were  several  branches  of  the  Laws  in  that  re- 
gion of  country  who  were  the  kindred  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Law.  They  were,  however,  for  the  most  part,  Congre- 
gationalists, or  Presbyterians,  or  Episcopalians.  In- 
deed, I  am  sure  that  Brother  Law  was  the  first  of  his 
name  that  became  a  Baptist.  He  was  led  to  do  so  by 
a  thorough  examination  of  the  Scriptures  that  he  might 
find  out  what  the  Lord  would  have  him  to  do.  His 
wife,  it  is  true,  several  years  before,  had  joined  the 
Baptist  church ;  but  he  was  very  much  averse  to  her 
doing  so.  He  said  to  her,  "You  may  do  as  you  please ; 
but  remember,  when  I  become  a  Christian,  I  shall  join 
another  church." 

He  became  a  Christian  rather  late  in  life.  His 
means  enabled  him  to  associate  with  the  '^'gentry"  of 
the  seaboard ;  and  for  something  more  than  forty  years 
he  was  a  man  of  the  world.  At  length,  however,  he 
began  to  think  about  God  and  the  world  to  come.  He 
first  tried,  as  I  learn  from  Dr.  J.  H.  Campbell,  to  make 
his  peace  with  God  by  a  strict  practical  moralitv.     He 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  85 

worked  along  this  line  faithfully  for  a  time,  but  it 
broug-ht  him  no  comfort.  Presently  his  distress  be- 
came intense.  He  discovered  that,  in  spite  of  his  moral- 
ity, he  was  a  great  sinner.  He  then  turned  to  the  Gos- 
pel, and  with  prayer  and  supplication  he  sought  the 
way  of  salvation  through  its  teachings.  At  last  he 
found  peace  with  God,  not  by  his  morality,  but  by  faith 
in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  blood  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin.  It  was  then,  throwing  aside  the  bias  of 
his  early  years  acquired  in  the  family  of  his  father, 
who  was  an  Episcopalian,  he  sought  his  duty  in  the 
Word  of  God.  The  result  was  he  applied  for  baptism 
at  the  Baptist  church.  He  was  baptized  in  April,  181 5, 
by  Dr.  C.  O.  Screven. 

Brother  Law's  experience  (I  have  given  only  a 
sketch  of  it)  is  intensely  interesting  in  all  its  details. 
We  see  in  it  an  unregenerate  heart,  a  strong  mind,  and 
a  resolute  will  endeavoring  to  find  another  path  to 
heaven  than  the  one  marked  out  for  us  by  the  New 
Testament.  This  is  a  common  mistake  with  the  uncon- 
verted. Brother  Law's  experience  illustrates  its  utter 
futility.  He  found  his  garment  of  self-righteousness 
woven  of  his  boasted  morality  "a  filthy  rag."  But  he 
was  led  at  last  to  the  Rock  that  was  higher  than  he. 
Then  he  could  adopt  the  words  of  the  poet  and  sing : 

"My  hope  is  built  on  nothing  less 
Than  Jesus'  blood  and  righteousness ; 
I  dare  not  trust  the  sweetest  frame. 
But  wholly  lean  on  Jesus'  name ;: 
On  Christ,  the  solid  Rock,  I  stand, 
All  other  ground  is  sinking  sand." 

Having  joined  the   church,  be  became  at  once  an 


86  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

active  Christian — so  much  so  that  his  brethren  soon 
called  him  to  ordination. 

From  that  time  to  the  end  of  his  life  he  was  a  de- 
voted, self-denying  and  useful  preacher.  His  educa- 
tion was  very  limited,  but  he  knew  his  Bible.  He  knew 
the  God  whom  it  revealed,  and  comprehended  the  great 
scheme  of  human  redemption  by  the  gift  of  his  be- 
loved Son,  ''that  whosoever  believelh  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  With  this  preparation 
he  went  forth  upon  a  laborious  service.  He  served 
various  churches,  and  after  Doctor  Screven's  death  he 
was  pastor  for  a  year  or  two  of  the  Sunbury  church. 

But  I  would  specially  emphasize  Brother  Law's 
faithful  labors  among  the  colored  people.  He  was  to 
them  as  a  messenger  from  heaven.  The  churches 
which  he  served  abounded  with  them ;  and  those 
humble  people  heard  him  gladly.  It  has  been  said  of 
him,  by  one  who  knew  him  well,  that  his  chief  design 
in  consenting  to  be  ordained  was  that  he  might  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  negroes.  They  had  the  privilege,  it  is 
true,  of  attending  the  morning  service  with  the  white 
people — at  least  as  many  of  them  as  could  find  room 
in  the  house ;  but  many  were  excluded  for  the  want  of 
room.  To  meet  this  difficulty  he  would  often  preach  in 
the  afternoon  to  the  negroes  only,  and  then 
they  would  fill  the  house  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
We  do  not  know  and  can  never  know  till  we  get  to 
heaven  how  many  'children  of  the  "Dark  Continent" 
this  great  and  good  man  led  to  Jesus.  Such  was  the 
work  of  Samuel  Spry  Law,  one  of  the  worthy  men  of 
the  Sunbury  Church  who  deserves  to  be  held  in  affec- 
tionate remembrance,  along  with  the  sainted  Screven, 
by  Georgia  Baptists. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  87 

SECTION   THREE. 

SUNBURY  BAPTIST  CHURCH  CONTINUED. — 
JACOB   DUNHAM. 

As  I  have  stated,  I  became  acquainted  with  the  Sun- 
bury  Baptist  church  in  the  month  of  January,  1832. 
I  had  been  elected  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  to  take 
charge  of  the  Sunbury  Academy,  and  was  on  hand  for 
that  purpose.  This  brought  me  into  intimate  relations 
with  the  patrons  of  the  school,  who  represented  nearly 
every  family  in  the  village.  I  also  became  a  member, 
by  letter,  of  the  Sunbury  church,  and  was  identified 
with  it  for  nearly  the  whole  of  that  year ;  so  my  oppor- 
tunity to  know  the  church  was  about  as  good  as  could 
be  desired.  The  pastor  of  the  church  was  Rev.  Josiah 
S.  Law,  the  oldest  son  of  Rev.  Samuel  S.  Law.  Of 
this  young  brother  I  will  speak  further  on.  I  wish  first 
to  give  some  account  of  the  church  itself. 

It  was  the  rule  of  the  Sunbury  church  to  have  pub- 
lic worship  in  the  meeting-house  every  Sunday.  The 
pastor  preached  on  two  Sundays  every  month ;  on 
two,  he  visited  other  churches  in  the  county.  One  of 
our  Sundays,  when  the  pastor  was  absent,  was  supplied 
by  his  father,  of  whom  a  brief  account  has  been  given. 
This  arrangement  left  one  Sunday  without  a  preacher. 
But  the  church  met  for  worship  on  that  day  all  the 
same.  Some  member  of  the  church,  by  previous  ar- 
rangement, would  conduct  the  service.  It  included  the 
usual  exercises  that  were  observed  when  the  pastor 
was  present.  The  service  was  opened  with  a  hymn, 
and  many  sweet  voices  joined  in  the  singing.  It  was 
good  to  listen  to  them.  Then  followed  a  prayer  by 
the  leader  of  the  meeting,  or  by  some  brother  whom 


88  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

he  called  on  for  that  service.  After  prayer,  another 
hymn  was  sung.  Then  followed  the  sermon.  The 
leader  had  selected  from  some  volume  of  printed  ser- 
mons one  which  he  judged  would  be  appropriate  for 
that  occasion.  This  sermon  he  read  with  a  clear,  ear- 
nest, and  reverent  utterance,  and  it  was  reverently  lis- 
tened to  by  the  people.  After  reading  the  sermon,  if 
the  leader  chose,  it  was  in  order  for  him  to  emphasize 
the  thoughts  of  the  sermon  with  words  of  his  own; 
and  this  was  sometimes  done. 

This  habit,  or  custom,  of  the  church  was  already 
established  when  I  joined  it.  How  long  it  had  been 
observed  I  do  not  know.  I  soon  found,  however,  that 
I  was  expected  to  bear  my  share  of  its  burdens,  and  I 
tried  to  do  it  as  well  as  I  could. 

Besides  this  extra  Sunday  service,  the  church,  of 
course,  had  its  weekly  prayer-meeting.  At  these  meet- 
ings the  pastor  was  usually  present,  and  conducted  the 
worship.  The  prayer-meetings  were  generally  well  at- 
tended. 

We  might  conclude,  a  priori,  that  such  habits,  sup- 
plementing the  rich  and  earnest  preaching  of  our  be- 
loved pastor  and  his  venerable  father,  could  not  fail  to 
be  followed  by  good  results. 

One  effect  was,  there  were  some  conversions.  Not 
many,  for  the  community  was  very  small,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  were  already  connected  with  the 
church  in  Sunbury  or  with  the  Congregationalist 
church  at  Medway.  Still  there  were  some  who  were 
brought  into  our  fold.  The  place  of  baptism  was  at 
the  foot  of  the  bluff  that  afforded  an  extensive  view 
of  the  beautiful  bay.  On  such  occasions  it  seemed  as  if 
the  whole  population  of  the  village  were  gathered  on 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  89 

that  bluff  to  witness  the  impressive  ceremony  that  was 
going  on  at  its  base  in  the  waters  of  the  incoming 
tide.  It  was  a  scene  to  make  glad  the  angels  of 
Heaven. 

Another  effect  of  this  habit  above  mentioned  was 
to  diffuse  a  religious  atmosphere  over  the  entire  com- 
munity. I  do  not  mean  that  all  were  Christians.  There 
were  some  in  Sunbury,  as  well  as  everywhere  else,  who 
made  no  profession  of  piety — who  were  people  of  the 
world.  But  even  these  rendered  an  outward  respect 
to  religion  that  showed  that  they  recognized  its  pres- 
ence, and,  in  some  degree  at  least,  appreciated  its  value. 
They  associated  freelv  and  pleasantly  with  religious 
people,  and  were  often,  I  may  say  usually,  attendants 
upon  the  preached  gospel.  This  religious  influence 
was  felt  also  in  the  Sunday-school.  It  included  the 
children  of  both  denominations,  and  was  well  attended. 

Another  fact  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  signalized 
the  Sunbury  church  deserves  to  be  noticed.  While  the 
white  members  of  the  church  scarcely  ever  exceeded 
thirty  persons  at  any  one  time,  yet,  during  the  first 
thirty  years  of  its  existence,  there  went  out  from  its 
fold  nine  Baptist  preachers.  I  will  give  their  names, 
as  well  as  I  can,  in  the  order  of  time :  Jacob  Dunham, 
Samuel  S.  Law,  James  Shannon,  J.  H.  Campbell,  Jo- 
siah  S.  Law,  Edward  Stevens,  James  O.  Screven  and 
Adam  T.  Holmes.  To  this  list  I  think  should  be  add- 
ed the  name  of  Brother  Carlos  Stevens  (who  makes 
the  ninth),  for,  although  he  entered  the  ministry  a  few 
years  later,  yet  he  was  raised  up  under  the  influences 
of  the  Sunbury  church,  and  I  think  was  baptized  into 
its  membership. 

Brother  Shannon,  the  reader  will  remember,  was  al- 


90  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

ready  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church ;  but 
among  the  causes  that  providentially  led  him  to  make 
a  thorough  examination  of  the  baptismal  question,  one 
was  certainly  the  influence  of  the  Baptist  church  which 
he  found  in  Sunbury. 

I  have  not  placed  my  own  name  in  the  foregoing  list, 
because  my  connection  with  the  Sunbury  church  was 
perhaps  too  short  to  give  me  a  right  to  do  so.  But,  in 
my  own  mind,  I  am  clearly  conscious  that  my  associa- 
tion with  that  godly  people,  short  as  it  was,  did  much 
to  deepen  my  impressions  toward  the  pulpit. 

The  facts  above  stated  present  to  us  a  marvelous 
record  (of  only  thirty  years)  for  a  church  of  less 
than  forty  white  members.  It  may  serve  to  increase 
our  interest  in  this  record  to  notice  more  particularly 
some  of  the  brethren  whose  names  have  been  men- 
tioned. The  first  on  the  list  is  the  name  of 
Jacob  Dunham. 

Brother  Dunham  and  his  wife  had  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  white  persons  baptized  into  the  Sunbury 
church.  This  occurred  in  1806.  In  a  few  years 
Brother  Dunham  began  to  preach.  My  acquaintance 
with  him  began  in  1832.  The  incidents  of  his  life  I 
can  not  relate,  but  the  manner  of  his  life  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  man  it  was  easy  to  learn,  for  he  was  well 
known  far  and  near  over  the  counties  on  the  seaboard 
in  which  he  labored.  His  education  was  very  limited 
and  he  was  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  and  yet  he 
yielded  to  the  call  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  preached  the 
gospel  almost  without  compensation,  in  the  highways 
and  the  hedges.  His  labors  were  chiefly  devoted  to 
the  colored  people  and  to  the  white  settlers  that  were 
living  in  the  pine  woods  which  lay  back  of  the  richer 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  91 

lands  of  the  seaboard.  It  is  said  that  he  would  work 
on  his  farm  during  the  week  till  the  time  came  to  meet 
one  of  his  appointments ;  then,  if  the  place  could  be 
reached  by  land,  he  would  saddle  his  plow  horse  and 
ride  sometimes  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  miles  to  fill  his 
engagement.  But  if  the  place  was  beyond  the  river, 
or  upon  an  island  on  the  coast,  then  he  would  take  his 
little  boat,  and  like  the  disciples  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 
row  himself  across  the  waters  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  poor  negroes  on  some  plantation.  Nor  were  his 
labors  in  vain.  It  is  not  improbable  that  during  his 
life  he  baptized  more  than  a  thousand  of  his  humble 
hearers,  including  both  black  and  white.  Such  was 
the  manner  of  his  life. 

His  character  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all.  He 
had  not  the  learning  and  culture  of  Doctor  Mallary, 
but  he  was  like  him  in  the  depth  and  fervor  of  his  piety. 
Jesus  dwelt  in  his  heart  by  faith,  and  he  was  rooted 
and  grounded  in  love.  Dear  old  man  !  How  bright 
will  he  shine  in  the  day  of  Christ !  I  love  to  contem- 
plate the  life  and  character  of  such  a  man.  It  makes 
me  desire  to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
Jesus.  May  this  be  the  effect  upon  every  one  who 
reads  this  brief  reminiscence. 

It  only  remains  to  say  that  Brother  Dunham  raised 
a  large  family,  which  was  a  household  of  faith.  Only 
one  of  his  children  is  living,  Mrs.  Ashley,  now  (1896) 
residing  in  Atlanta.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Second 
Baptist  church.  Some  of  his  descendants,  however, 
are  still  to  be  found  in  different  sections  of  the  State. 
May  they  all  attain  to  the  spiritual  stature  of  their 
sainted  ancestor. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


SECTION  ONE. 
JOSIAH   SPRY   LAW. 

Brother  Law  wanted  about  one  month  of  being 
twenty-four  years  old  when  I  first  met  him  in  January, 
1832.  He  had  obtained  a  good  classical  and  English 
education  at  the  Sunbury  Academy  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Rev.  James  Shannon.  He  had  also  taken  a 
full  course  of  instruction  in  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Newton,  Massachusetts.  He  was,  therefore,  well 
equipped  intellectually  for  the  work  to  which  he  had 
devoted  his  life.  His  ordination  took  place  soon  after 
his  return  from  Newton.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
notice  that  at  the  same  time,  and  by  the  same  presby- 
tery, two  other  ministers  were  ordained  with  Brother 
Law.  These  were  Rev.  Charles  B.  Jones  and  Dr. 
Jesse  H.  Campbell. 

Brother  Law  succeeded  his  father,  Rev.  Samuel  S. 
Law,  as  pastor  of  the  Sunbury  church,  and  had  but  re- 
cently entered  upon  his  work  when  I  became  acquainted 
with  him.  He  was  pastor  of  the  church,  and  I  was 
rector  of  the  academy.  We  soon  became  intimate  as- 
sociates and  life-long  friends. 

He  was  endowed  by  nature  with  a  good  intelligence, 
a  clear  perception  and  a  sound  judgment.  To  these 
qualities  must  be  added  a  fluent  speech  and  a  remarka- 
bly correct  elocution ;  and  all  these  natural  gifts  were 
well  developed  by  a  good  degree  of  literary  and  theo- 
logical culture. 

92 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  93 

In  his  person  he  was  rather  small  in  stature,  but 
symmetrically  built  with  good  limbs  and  muscular 
fiber;  so  he  was  active,  strong,  and  capable  of  endur- 
ing much  physical  effort.  He  was  indeed  a  handsome 
young  man. 

In  his  manners  he  was  easy  and  graceful.  In  con- 
versation he  was  genial,  affable  and  kind.  He  was 
not  averse  to  pleasantry,  wit  and  humor,  and  yet  his 
religious  sentiments  were,  like  the  chords  of  a  musi- 
cal instrument,  always  ready  to  respond  in  harmony 
to  every  touch  of  spiritual  thought.  These  qualities 
made  him  a  welcome  guest  in  every  social  circle.  The 
young  and  the  gay  could  approach  him  without  re- 
serve or  embarrassment;  the  old  and  serious  found  in 
him  an  earnest  and  sympathizing  companion ;  and  the 
timid  Christian,  troubled  with  doubts  and  fears,  could 
find  in  him  ready  words  of  counsel  and  of  comfort. 

It  was,  after  all,  in  the  pulpit  that  Brother  Law  ap- 
peared to  the  best  advantage.  He  knew  how  to  grasp 
the  meaning  of  his  text.  And  when  he  had  grasped 
it  for  himself  he  knew  how  to  present  his  meaning  to 
his  hearers  clearly  and  forcibly.  This  he  accomplished 
by  a  carefully  prepared  analysis.  His  topics  were  well 
chosen  and  appropriately  arranged,  so  as  to  bring  out 
distinctly  the  teachings  of  the  text.  When  this  was 
done,  he  knew  how  to  apply  those  teachings  to  the 
wants  of  his  hearers,  and  by  earnest  words  of  exhor- 
tation and  persuasion  to  enforce  their  acceptance  of 
them  in  their  hearts  and  the  observance  of  them  in 
their  lives.  He  was  an  excellent  and  interesting 
preacher.  Though  he  often  read  his  sermons,  yet  such 
was  the  correctness  of  his  elocution  that  his  delivery 
was  never  dry ;  his  audience  listened  to  him  with  inter- 


94  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

est  and  pleasure.  His  fluency  qualified  him.  to  speak 
extemporaneously  with  great  effect ;  and  thus  he  was 
doubly  equipped  for  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

Several  times  during  the  year  that  I  was  with  him 
in  Sunbury  there  were  baptisms.  On  one  occasion  he 
had  the  pleasure  of  baptizing  a  younger  brother  and  at 
the  same  time,  or  on  another  occasion,  he  baptized  a 
younger  sister.  These  two  were,  with  himself,  the 
children  of  his  father's  second  wife,  who,  years  before, 
had  gone  home  to  heaven.  In  the  presence  of  a  large 
congregation  assembled  on  the  bluff  already  mentioned, 
as  he  was  about  to  baptize  one  of  these  precious 
relatives,  he  paused  a  moment,  and  looking  towards 
the  sky  exclaimed  with  tender  feeling:  "If  the  re- 
deemed in  heaven  are  permitted  to  know  what  is  taking 
place  on  earth,  a  sainted  mother  is  now  looking  down 
with  joy  upon  the  scene  before  us.  She  sees  her 
darling  child  about  to  put  on  Christ  by  baptism."  Oh, 
there  is  something  so  lovely  in  a  New-Testament  bap- 
tism !  It  is  the  place  where  one  who  has  died  to  the 
love  of  sin  comes  to  be  buried,  symbolically,  with  Je- 
sus, that  he  may  rise  with  him  to  a  new  and  a  higher 
life.  It  is  an  epoch  in  his  life  which  he  never  forgets. 
Other  memories  may  be  sweet,  but,  "like  the  music  of 
Caryle,"  are  often  "mournful  to  the  soul."  But  the 
memory  of  one's  baptism  is  not  only  sweet — it  is  often, 
like  the  music  of  the  angels,  full  of  rapture  and  joy. 

Brother  Law  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Sunbury.  For 
a  short  time  he  was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church 
in  Macon  and  afterwards  in  Savannah.  But  he  seemed 
to  prefer  to  labor  in  his  native  county.  He  soon 
returned  to  Sunbury  and  again  became  pastor  of  the 
church  at  that  place. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  95 

His  labors,  however,  extended  to  other  churches 
within  his  reach.  The  white  membership  of  those 
churches  was  small,  but  the  colored  members  were 
very  numerous.  Like  his  father.  Brother  Law  felt 
deeply  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  colored  people.  It 
was  interesting  at  our  communion  seasons  in  Sunbury 
to  look  up  at  the  galleries  that  extended  round  the 
sides  of  the  auditorium  all  filled  with  negroes.  They 
were  there  to  hear,  with  their  white  friends,  the 
preached  gospel,  and  then  to  take  with  them  the  memo- 
rial symbols  of  our  Savior's  dying  love.  While  the  dea- 
cons were  carrying  round  the  cup,  Brother  Law  would 
return  to  the  pulpit,  whose  elevation  brought  him 
nearly  on  a  level  with  the  gallery,  and  there  preach 
almost  another  sermon  specially  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  his  colored  hearers. 

The  planters  on  the  seaboard  of  Georgia  were  gen- 
erally pleased  to  have  ministers,  who  were  willing  to 
do  it,  to  come  and  preach  to  their  negroes.  Some, 
perhaps  a  majority,  went  so  far  as  to  build  a  house 
devoted  to  religious  services.  It  was  called  the  ''prayer- 
house."  In  that  house  the  negroes  held  their  relig- 
ious meetings  at  night  as  often  as  they  pleased. 

This  opened  a  wide  field  of  labor  for  white  ministers 
who  happened  to  be  in  the  neighborhood.  •  We  have 
already  seen  how  Brother  Dunham  and  Brother  Sam- 
uel S.  Law  labored  among  the  colored  people.  Brother 
Josiah  walked  in  the  footsteps  of  his  venerable  father. 
I  have  known  him  to  ride  several  miles  after  supper  to 
fill  an  appointment  in  one  of  these  prayer-houses.  I 
was  with  him  in  one  of  these  evening  excursions.  We 
found  the  house  well  filled.  His  mode  of  conducting 
the  services  was  just  the  thing  for  his  humble  auditors. 


96  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

He  was  a  gentle  shepherd  feeding  the  lambs  of  the 
fold. 

Brother  Law's  fame  was  not  confined  to  the  nar- 
row region  in  which  he  lived.  In  1839  I  "^^t  him  at 
the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  at  Richland  Church,  in 
Twiggs  County.  On  that  occasion  I  heard  him  preach 
a  magnificent  sermon  to  a  large  and  appreciative  au- 
dience. From  that  hour  he  ranked  among  the  best 
preachers  in  Georgia. 

He  was  once  ofifered,  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  the 
chair  of  theology  in  Mercer  University.  But  after  due 
consideration  he  declined  the  office.  He  was  not  will- 
ing to  give  up  his  regular  ministry,  among  the  people 
whom  he  loved,  for  scholastic  honors.  He  preferred  to 
continue  upon  the  field  where  he  had  been  so  useful 
and  where  he  was  so  much  beloved.  Everybody  who 
knew  him  loved  him,  especially  the  colored  people 
whom  he  served  so  faithfully.  It  is  said  that  just  a 
few  days  before  he  was  stricken  with  the  malady  that 
ended  his  life,  he  baptized  at  one  place  thirty  negroes, 
while  sixty  others,  perhaps  at  another  place,  were 
awaiting  his  services. 

But  death  intervened ;  he  went  home  to  die — to  die 
in  the  meridian  of  his  manhood.  Strange  that  such  a 
life  should  be  so  short!  His  death  occurred  in  1853, 
when  he  was  only  about  forty-five  years  old.  He  rests 
from  his  labors  and  his  works  have  followed  him.  He 
left  a  widow  and  a  large  family  of  children  to  mourn 
his  loss.  And  thousands  of  sympathizing  friends  in 
Georgia  were  ready  to  mingle  their  tears  with  the  tears 
of  his  weeping  household. 

May  the  Lord  help  the  readers  of  this  humble  tribute 
to  his  memory  to  gather  spiritual  strength  and  fidelity 
from  his  example. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  97 

SECTION  TWO. 
JESSE  H.   CAMPBELL. 

Rev.  Jesse  H.  Campbell  was  another  of  the  group 
of  ministers  sent  forth  from  the  Sunbury  church  to 
labor  among  Georgia  Baptists. 

Doctor  Campbell  was  born  in  January,  1807,  in  Mc- 
intosh County,  but  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent 
in  Liberty  County,  where  his  father  had  a  small  estate 
about  five  miles  from  Sunbury.  It  was  in  the  academy 
at  Sunbury  that  he  received  his  academic  education, 
under  the  instruction  of  Professor  James  Shannon, 
who  was  an  eminent  teacher.  It  was  here,  too,  that 
the  Lord  called  this  young  student  to  repentance  to- 
wards God  and  to  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  brings  us  to  the  time  of  his  conversion. 

He  was  only  sixteen  years  old  when  that  important 
event  in  his  life  occurred.  We  learn  from  himself,  in 
a  letter  addressed  to  Rev.  Walker  Lewis,  of  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  that  his  father  was  not  a  professor  of  re- 
ligion, but  he  had  a  devotedly  pious  mother.  No 
doubt  she  had  often  prayed  for  her  darling  boy.  I  can 
not  do  better,  at  this  point,  than  to  quote  Brother 
Campbell's  own  account  of  his  conversion,  as  reported 
by  his  personal  friend,  Mr.  W.  Lewis,  from  the  letter 
above  referred  to.    He  said  : 

"I  learned  to  be  a  profane  swearer  from  childhood, 
and  by  the  time  I  entered  my  sixteenth  year  I  was  im- 
piously, awfully  profane.  I  was  a  pupil  in  Sunbury  at 
the  time,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  God  revived  his 
work  in  the  Baptist  church,  the  only  one  in  the  place, 
and  the  first  revival  I  ever  attended.  In  the  midst  of 
the  excitement,  the  town  was  visited  by  a  Methodist 


98  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

minister  by  the  name  of  Winn,  who  died  soon  after  of 
yellow  fever  in  Charleston.  He  was  the  first  Methodist 
whom  I  ever  heard,  and  I  was  greatly  aroused  under 
his  preaching.  Contrary  to  my  purpose  I  was  con- 
strained to  remain  to  the  night  service.  It  was  the  first 
time  I  had  ever  heard  the  anxious  invited  forward  to 
prayer.  I  was  the  first  to  embrace  the  opportunity,  and 
was  instantly  followed  by  many  others.  Not  many  days 
elapsed  before  I  found  peace  in  believing  in  Christ, 
and  joined  the  church  soon  thereafter." 

This  account  of  his  conversion  is  very  concise.  We 
are  left  to  infer  what  must  have  been  the  struggles 
and  anxieties  which  he  felt  under  the  sudden  and  deep 
convictions  that  had  possessed  his  heart.  And  we  are 
left  to  infer  how  he  was  led  step  by  step  to  peace  with 
God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  we  are  left 
in  no  doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  his  conversion,  as 
the  following  incident  will  show : 

The  very  night  after  his  baptism  in  the  morning,  his 
mother  called  upon  him  to  conduct  family  worship. 
This  was  a  fearful  trial  for  a  boy  of  only  sixteen  sum- 
mers, and  for  a  church  member  less  than  one  day  old. 
At  first,  as  might  be  expected,  he  would  have  preferred 
to  be  excused ;  but  his  mother  overcame  him,  his  sis- 
ters too  encouraged  him,  and  even  their  lady  guests  did 
the  same  thing,  and  his  father  also,  though  not  a 
church  member,  had  given  his  consent.  His  scruples 
gave  way  under  such  pressure,  and  he  resolved  to  try. 
I  will  here  let  him  tell  the  rest  of  the  story  himself : 

"Trembling  from  head  to  foot,  I  went  forward. 
Falling  upon  my  knees,  my  tongue  was  loosed,  the 
fountains  of  my  heart  were  broken  up,  and  I  poured 
forth  such  a  prayer  as  melted   all  in  hearing.     My 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  99 

father  was  sobbing  like  a  wearied  child;  my  sisters 
?nd  their  friends  were  overwhelmed  ;  the  servants  in  the 
portico  were  weeping  aloud,  and  my  poor  consumptive 
mother  had  as  much  of  God's  goodness  as  she  could 
bear.  From  that  night  my  father  was  a  changed  man 
(though  he  never  became  a  church  member)  ;  my  sis- 
ters and  their  guests  were  soon  converted  ;  and  the  poor 
servants  came  for  their  full  share  of  the  saving  grace 
of  God." 

What  an  argument  for  family  worship  might  be 
drawn  from  this  incident  in  the  early  life  of  our 
Brother  Campbell!  Alas,  how  many  thousands  of 
fathers  and  mothers  allow  the  streams  of  living  water 
that  flow  from  the  family  altar  to  run  dry  from  sheer 
neglect !  Reader,  it  is  not  enough  that  you  should  at- 
tend the  public  exercises  of  the  house  of  God.  David 
did  that  most  faithfully ;  but  when  he  had  offered  his 
sacrifices  at  the  Tabernacle,  we  learn  that  he  returned 
home  "to  bless  his  household."  The  mode  he  adopted, 
we  know  not ;  but  the  words  clearly  imply  a  religious 
service  of  some  kind  with  his  family.  We  can  not 
overestimate  the  moral  power  of  family  prayer. 

That  prayer  in  his  father's  house  was  the'  germ  of 
Brother  Campbell's  ministerial  life.  He  began  almost 
immediately  to  take  part  in  the  social  meetings  of  the 
church  by  leading  in  prayer  and  by  exhorting  his 
young  friends  as  he  had  opportunity.  So  zealous  was 
he  that  he  won  throughout  the  section  in  which  he 
lived  the  title  of  "the  boy  preacher."  These  youthful 
efiforts  soon  culminated  in  a  desire  to  devote  his  life 
to  the  ministry.  To  this  end,  when  about  eighteen 
years  old,  he  went  to  Athens  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion at  the  State  University.    In  this,  however,  he  was 

8 


loo  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

disappointed  by  the  unexpected  death  of  his  father. 
He  was  the  only  Hving  son,  and  he  was  compelled  to 
return  home  that  he  might  take  care  of  his  three  sis- 
ters and  settle  up  his  father's  small  estate. 

Just  here  occurred  an  incident  that  deserves  to  be 
mentioned,  because  it  illustrates  the  man.  When  the 
commissioners  were  about  to  divide  the  little  property, 
he  instructed  them  to  divide  it  into  only  three  parts  and 
to  give  it  all  to  his  sisters.  They,  indeed,  earnestly 
protested  against  his  giving  up  his  share,  but  he  would 
not  be  moved  from  his  purpose.  He  gave  the  whole 
property  to  his  sisters.  What  an  example  of  a  noble, 
unselfish,  and  loving  brother ! 

Having  closed  up  his  domestic  business  he  proceeded 
to  arrange  for  his  life-work.  It  has  already  been 
stated  elsewhere  that  he  was  ordained  at  Sunbury  in 
1830  along  with  Rev.  J.  S.  Law  and  Rev.  Charles  B. 
Jones,  He  then  left  the  seaboard  and  for  a  time 
studied  theology  with  Doctor  Sherwood,  near  Eaton- 
ton,  in  Putnam  County.  But  it  was  not  long  before  he 
was  fully  engaged  in  preaching,  and  he  spent  nearly 
the  whole  of  his  ministerial  life  in  Middle  Georgia. 

My  knowledge  of  Brother  Campbell's  labors  covers  a 
period  of  more  than  fifty  years.  I  found  him  to  be  a 
man  of  great  firmness  of  purpose,  of  ardent  piety,  of 
unfaltering  zeal  and  of  excellent  judgment,  especially 
in  guiding,  as  a  skillful  shepherd,  the  several  flocks 
committed  to  his  charge.  His  preaching  was  instruct- 
ive, exhortatory  and  persuasive.  He  could  preach  the 
doctrines  of  grace  as  Baptists  hold  them ;  and  yet  he 
could  make  the  sinner  feel  his  personal  responsibility 
in  the  matter  of  his  own  salvation. 

Brother   Campbell's   devotion   to  the   ministry   was 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  loi 

exclusive  of  all  secular  occupations  that  would  inter- 
fere with  his  preaching  the  gospel.  At  the  same  time, 
he  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  all  the  benevolent  en- 
terprises in  which  his  brethren  were  engaged.  He 
loved  Mercer  University.  He  loved  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance. He  loved  the  Sunday-school.  And  he  loved 
the  cause  of  modern  missions.  In  all  these  matters  he 
worked  with  'characteristic  zeal  and  perseverance,  be- 
cause he  knew  them  to  be  subsidiary  to  the  success  of 
the  preached  gospel. 

Brother  Campbell  was  one  of  the  most  active  agents 
in  the  organization  of  the  Central  Association.  It  was 
organized  in  the  interest  of  all  the  benevolent  institu- 
tions of  that  day.  And  it  soon  made  itself  an  import- 
ant factor  in  promoting  them  all ;  and  in  this  work 
Doctor  Campbell  was  always  and  everywhere  conspic- 
uous. 

If  my  memory  is  not  at  fault,  it  was  Doctor  Camp- 
bell who  first  suggested  and  labored  to  bring  about  the 
conference  of  ministers  at  Forsyth  in  1836,  in  order  to 
allay,  if  possible,  the  strife  between  Missionary  Bap- 
tists and  their  opponents.  The  effects  were  not  appar- 
ent at  first,  but  soon  a  better  feeling  was  noticed,  and 
anti-mission  doctrine  gradually  declined  till  its  advo- 
cates were  reduced  to  a  small  minority. 

I  must  not  fail  to  notice  Brother  Campbell's  last  and 
perhaps  his  most  Christlike  work.  It  was  in  his  old 
age.  He  had  retired  for  rest  to  live  with  his  son  in 
Columbus,  Georgia.  But  he  soon  found  work  to  do 
among  the  poor  of  the  city  and  its  suburbs.  Like  his 
Master,  he  went  about  among  them  feeding  the  hungry 
and  tending  the  sick  and  preaching  the  gospel  to  gath- 
ering multitudes  in  the  open  air.    I  do  not  know  if  ever 


I02  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

in  the  prime  of  his  Hfe  he  did  a  better  work  than  he 
did  in  his  city  mission  at  Cokimbus.  It  seems  the  ex- 
tensive factories  and  other  workshops  in  and  near  by 
Columbus  had  brought  together  a  large  number  of 
people  who,  like  millions  of  others,  had  to  earn  sub- 
sistence by  daily  toil  as  day-laborers.  Their  oppor- 
tunity to  hear  the  gospel  was  very  limited.  In  this 
matter  they  were  hardly  better  off  than  they  would 
have  been  if  there  had  been  no  churches  in  the  city. 
Admitting  a  few  exceptional  cases,  as  a  rule  these 
poor  people  were  practically  without  the  gospel.  Be- 
sides this  privation  many  of  them  would  sometimes  be 
in  want  of  the  necessities  of  life,  and  some  would  be 
sick.  Such  was  the  field  that  was  found  by  Brother 
Campbell. 

He  was  then  seventy  years  of  age.  He  had  given 
up  his  last  pastorate.  For  nearly  fifty  years  he  had 
labored  with  active  zeal  to  help  forward  every  good 
work  over  all  sections  of  our  State;  and  the  good 
which  he  accomplished  can  not  be  estimated  in  the 
terms  of  earthly  measures.  But  at  last  this  aged  serv- 
ant retired  to  the  home  of  his  son. 

Was  it  because  the  time  had  come  that  he  should 
drop  his  mantle  upon  the  shoulders  of  that  beloved 
son?  He  may  have  thought  so,  for  I  remember  the 
words  he  spoke  when  many  years  before  at  Penfield 
he  was  about  to  baptize  that  son.  As  they  stood  to- 
gether in  the  water,  he  said  in  substance :  ''This  is  the 
last  of  my  sons  to  be  baptized,  and  my  hope  is  that 
when  I  have  passed  away  he  may  wear  my  mantle." 

But  the  time  had  not  come.  God  had  a  work  for 
him  to  do  in  his  old  age.  For  eleven  years  he  carried 
on  his  mission  in  the  manner  already  described,  among 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  103 

the  laboring  people  about  Columbus.  The  success  of 
his  work  may  be  inferred  from  the  high  appreciation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  people  of  the  city.  All  classes 
of  people  respected  and  loved  him.  The  city  council, 
several  years  before  his  death,  gave  him  a  deed  to  a 
beautiful  lot  in  the  cemetery;  and  it  was  their  desire 
that  he  should  be  buried  on  that  lot.  In  this  desire  the 
citizens  concurred.  So  it  came  to  pass,  when,  in  1888, 
he  had  breathed  his  last,  yielding  to  this  general  de- 
sire, his  relatives  consented  that  his  remains  should  lie 
in  the  lot  which  the  city  had  given  him.  By  the  con- 
tributions of  the  community,  a  neat  monument  adorns 
the  grave  where  he  sleeps.  Such  was  the  honor  paid 
to  this  faithful  servant  of  Jesus. 

I  have  not  spoken  of  Brother  Campbell's  labors  in 
the  Confederate  army  as  a  voluntary  chaplain.  Of 
course,  I  could  tell  nothing  about  them  from  my  per- 
sonal knowledge,  but  I  learn  that  his  efforts  among 
the  soldiers  were  immensely  useful.  It  is  said  that  he 
was  instrumental  in  leading  hundreds  of  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus.  And  knowing  him  as  well  as  I 
did,  I  feel  sure  that  there  were  many  incidents  in  his 
experiences  in  the  camps  of  the  soldiers  that  would 
be  intensely  interesting  if  we  only  knew  them.  But  I 
must  leave  to  some  surviving  pious  soldier,  if  such 
there  be,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  Brother  Camp- 
bell's spiritual  campaigns,  to  tell  the  story. 

Brother  Campbell  was  twice  married.  He  raised 
several  children,  two  of  whom  became  ministers — Rev. 
Charles  M.  and  Rev.  Abner  B.  Campbell.  The  former 
was  for  many  years  pastor  of  the  church  at  Athens. 
From  that  place  he  went  to  Texas  and  became  pastor 


I04  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

of  the  church,  I  think,  at  Cleburne.  But  he  has  passed 
away.  Brother  Abner  B.  still  lives  and  is  now  serving 
the  church  at  Troy,  in  Alabama. 


SECTION  THREE. 
ADAM    T.    HOLMES. 

This  brother  was  born  in  Sunbury  and  raised  to 
mature  manhood  under  the  influences  of  that  remark- 
able village.  He  joined  the  Baptist  church  when  he 
was  twenty  years  old.  For  a  time  he  was  a  young  man 
of  much  promise  as  a  church  member.  He  would  pray 
and  exhort  in  religious  meetings,  and  thus  great  hopes 
were  entertained  of  his  future  usefulness. 

But,  somehow,  after  a  few  years  he  fell  away  from 
his  Christian  profession  and  lost  the  fellowship  of  his 
brethren.  When  I  became  acquainted  with  him  in 
1832  he  was  not  a  church  member,  and  seemed  to  be 
given  up  to  the  love  and  service  of  the  world.  I 
found  him  to  be  well  educated. 

Though  estranged  from  the  church,  yet  he  held  a 
pew,  and  generally  was  an  attendant  upon  public  wor- 
ship. He  continued  to  associate  with  religious  people, 
and  had  among  them  many  personal  friends.  He  was 
about  seven  years  my  senior ;  but  he  was  classed  as  a 
young  man,  and  he  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the 
group  of  young  men  who  were  at  that  time  in  Sunbury. 
A  more  interesting  group  could  hardly  be  found  in  any 
community.  Their  relations  to  each  other  were  inti- 
mate and  friendly,  resulting  in  life-long  friendships 
and,  with  the  majority  of  them,  in  Christian  fellowship 
as  Vv^ell. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  105 

Gradually  the  winter  of  1832  wore  away,  and  spring 
with  its  blushing  flowers  clothed  the  earth  with  beauty. 
In  the  meantime  I  had  become  intimate  with  Mr. 
Holmes.  We  were  often  together,  sometimes  at  his 
home,  a  few  miles  from  the  village,  and  sometimes  at 
my  lodgings,  or  at  social  gatherings  in  town. 

One  moonlight  night,  perhaps  in  May,  or  early  in 
June,  Holmes  and  I  were  walking  across  the  wide  com- 
mon that  lay  between  the  village  and  the  neighboring 
woods.  We  were  walking  as  I  thought  only  for  re- 
creation and  for  social  enjoyment.  But  he,  it  seemed, 
had  another  motive.  We  had  gone  only  a  short  way, 
when  he  said,  "I  want  to  talk  to  you  this  evening  upon 
a  subject  of  deep  interest  to  me."  He  then  told  me  the 
story  of  his  religious  life,  and  of  his  unfortunate 
lapse  from  the  fellowship  of  the  church.  He  made  no 
complaint  of  bad  treatment  by  the  brethren;  but  for 
some  weeks  he  had  been  reviewing  his  case  and  felt 
sincerely  that  by  his  own  conduct  he  had  placed  himself 
in  an  unhappy  position.  Some  half  dozen  years  of  his 
young  manhood  had  been  worse  than  wasted.  He 
therefore  was  anxious  to  be  restored  to  the  church.  I 
heard  his  story  with  interest,  and  gave  him  all  the  en- 
couragement and  advice  that  I  was  able  to  do  at  so 
early  a  period  in  my  own  religious  life — I  was  hardly 
a  year  old  as  a  church  member. 

A  few  weeks  later,  Mr.  Holmes  having  consulted,  no 
doubt,  other  brethren,  presented  himself  before  the 
conference  of  the  church  to  ask  them  to  restore  him  to 
membership.  He  made  a  full  confession  of  his  errors 
and  avowed  his  desire  to  live  a  better  life.  The  church 
forgave  the  penitent  backslider  and  extended  to  him 


io6  Rcininisccnces  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

once  more  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.    It  was  a  joy- 
ful day,  and  he  became  dearer  to  me  than  ever. 

Not  long  after  this  he  came  to  the  up-country  to 
engage  in  teaching,  and  in  the  course  of  one  or  two 
years  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry.  The  scene  of 
his  labors  was  in  Middle  and  Southwest  Georgia.  He 
grew  in  the  ministry  very  rapidly,  so  that  his  services 
were  in  demand.  I  heard  Dr.  C.  D.  Mallary,  who 
knew  him  well,  say  that  he  regarded  Brother  Holmes 
decidedly  one  of  the  best  preachers  we  then  had  in 
Georgia. 

He  was  not  only  an  able  preacher,  but  was  interested 
in  all  our  benevolent  enterprises  and  an  advocate  of 
the  temperance  reformation.  He  was  made  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Mercer  University,  in 
which  position  he  took  an  active  part,  and  it  was 
Mercer  that  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity.  Another  important  position  to  which  he 
was  called  was  the  presidency  of  the  Baptist  Female 
College  in  Cuthbert.  All  these  things  show  the  high 
appreciation  to  which  this  dear  brother  attained  among 
the  Baptists  of  Georgia. 

The  last  time  I  met  Brother  Holmes  was  at  Newnan, 
Georgia,  where  the  Baptist  convention  was  then  in  ses- 
sion. He  met  me  with  tender  affection.  I  could  per- 
ceive that  his  health  was  failing,  and  it  was  but  a  few 
months  before  he  passed  away.  I  learn  that  he  entered 
the  valley  of  death  in  full  assurance  of  faith.  He  left  a 
widow  and  one  son  to  mourn  his  loss.  I  know  so  little 
of  their  subsequent  history  that  I  need  not  try  to 
sketch  it.  I  will  only  add  that  Mrs.  Holmes  was  of  the 
Hampton  family  of  South  Carolina.     She  lived  with 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  107 

Brother  Holmes  more  than  thirty  years.  She  was  a 
lady  of  culture  and  of  piety.  I  suppose  she  has  ere 
this  joined  her  husband  in  heaven. 


SECTION  FOUR. 
OLIVER    STEVENS. 

Mr.  Oliver  Stevens  was  a  native  of  Connecticut.  He 
came  to  Georgia  when  quite  a  young  man,  and  settled 
in  Liberty  County,  and  became  a  citizen  of  Sunbury. 
He  was  a  Presbyterian,  but  like  many  others  he  was 
led  to  investigate  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject  of  bap- 
tism, and  soon  discovered  that  they  distinctly  teach 
that  believers  only  are  the  proper  subjects  of  baptism, 
and  that  immersion  is  its  only  Scriptural  mode.  He 
therefore  became  a  Baptist,  and  when  I  first  knew  him 
he  was  a  deacon  of  the  Sunbury  church. 

His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Deacon  Peter  Winn,  also 
of  Liberty  County.  She  was  indeed  a  "helpmeet"  for 
just  such  a  man  as  was  her  husband.  They  were 
united,  not  only  by  the  ties  of  conjugal  affection,  but 
also  by  the  bonds  of  Christian  fellowship.  In  their 
house  the  family  altar  was  a  fixture,  and  morning  and 
evening  there  were  brought  to  it  offerings  of  prayer 
and  praise  that  sent  up  to  heaven  the  incense  of  the 
worship  which  is  "in  spirit  and  in  truth."  Their  chil- 
dren were  as  olive-plants  around  their  table,  yield- 
ing, for  both  parents,  a  full  supply  of  the  pure  oil  of 
filial  respect  and  love.  I  never  knew  a  happier  family. 
It  was  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the  Scripture  which 
says:  "Godliness  is  profitable  for  all  things,  having 
the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is 
to  come." 


io8  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Such  was  the  happy  family  of  which  Deacon  OHver 
Stevens  was  the  honored  head  and  father.  Let  us 
now  consider  him  as  a  church  member. 

He  was  the  leading  deacon  in  the  church.  This  of- 
fice he  filled  with  patient  fidelity  and  with  great  wis- 
dom. He  had  the  confidence  of  the  entire  church,  in- 
cluding the  colored  members  (perhaps  several  hun- 
dred), who  regarded  him  as  a  true  friend  and  a  safe 
adviser.  In  addition  to  his  service  as  deacon  he  was 
also  the  leader  of  the  singing  in  the  prayer-meetings 
and  in  public  worship.  And  then  he  was  also  the 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  This  important 
interest  he  managed  with  the  same  perseverance  and 
prudence  that  distinguished  him  in  his  deaconship. 
You  behold  in  Brother  Stevens  a  model  church  mem- 
ber, whose  light  shone  with  unflickering  steadiness 
along  all  the  lines  of  religious  duty  and  of  church 
work. 

But  as  a  citizen  he  was  no  less  useful  than  as  a 
church  member.  He  was  not  rich,  but  he  had  enough 
to  support  his  family,  and  to  give  to  his  children  a 
good  education,  and  to  train  them  in  such  culture  and 
refinement  as  would  qualify  them  for  the  amenities  of 
social  life. 

And  his  good-will  extended  beyond  his  own  house- 
hold. He  was  everybody's  friend,  and  everybody 
loved  him,  for  he  was  ever  ready  to  do  an  act  of  kind- 
ness to  any  one  who  needed  it.  He  was  not  only  a 
model  church  member,  but  a  model  man  in  every 
relation  of  life. 

My  words  may  seem  to  be  exaggerated,  but  they 
fail  to  express  adequately  my  appreciation  of  the 
beautiful  character  of  Deacon  Oliver  Stevens. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  109 

I  never  knew  a  more  completely  rounded  character. 
Its  dominating  element  was  faith  in  God,  but  in  obe- 
dience to  an  inspired  precept,  he  added  to  his  faith  the 
golden  chain  of  Christian  graces — virtue,  knowledge, 
temperance,  patience,  godliness,  brotherly  kindness 
and  love.  And  because  these  graces  were  in  him,  he 
was  "neither  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

But  to  whom  belongs  the  glory  of  such  a  character  ? 
Not  to  the  man  himself.  Brother  Stevens  would  not 
have  claimed  it.  No,  the  glory  of  such  a  character  be- 
longs to  the  indwelling  Christ.  It  is  his  light  that 
shines  in  the  good  man's  life.  Brother  Stevens  let 
that  light  so  shine  in  his  own  life  that  all  men  could 
see  it  and  glorify  the  God  who  gave  it — the  Christ 
that  dwelt  within  him. 


SECTION    FIVE. 
EDWARD   A.    STEVENS. 

If  I  had  space  I  should  be  glad  to  notice  all  of 
Brother  Stevens'  children,  so  far  at  least  as  I  have 
knowledge  of  their  subsequent  history.  Several  of 
them  were  my  personal  friends  and  most  highly  ap- 
preciated by  me. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Brother  Edward  A. 
Stevens  in  Sunbury  in  1832.  He  was  only  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  and  at  that  time  he  was  a  stu- 
dent of  Brown  University.  He  had  come  home  to 
spend  his  vacation.  He  was  a  very  devoted  Christian, 
and  was  looking  forward  to  the  ministry.  It  required 
but  a  little  time  for  me  to  learn  to  love  him.     His 


no  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

earnest,  pure,  spiritual  religion  won  me  at  once;  I  de- 
lighted in  his  society,  and  we  became,  I  have  reason  to 
think,  mutual  friends.  He  was  four  years  my  junior 
in  his  life,  but  many  years  my  senior  in  the  depth  of 
his  piety.  The  indwelling  Christ  was  already  brightly 
shining  in  his  young  manhood.  This  is  no  fancy  por- 
trait. I  speak  what  I  believed  then  and  what  I  believe 
now.  Sweet  is  the  memory  which  I  have  cherished  of 
that  young  brother. 

But  his  vacation  closed  and  he  once  more  bade  fare- 
well to  his  friends  that  he  might  return  to  the  Uni- 
versity and  complete  his  course.  This  he  did  and 
then  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Newton 
Centre  in  order  to  qualify  himself  more  especially  for 
the  great  work  to  which  he  had  consecrated  his  life. 

When  he  had  finished  this  course  also,  he  again  re- 
turned to  Georgia  for  a  few  months.  It  was  in  1837. 
I  was  once  more  residing  with  my  mother  in  the  old 
homestead  near  Athens,  Georgia,  and  I  was  then  serv- 
ing the  Baptist  church  of  that  place  as  its  pastor.  I 
had  learned  somehow  that  Brother  E.  A.  Stevens  was 
in  Georgia,  and  was  expecting  to  visit  Athens.  I  did 
not  know  when  to  look  for  him.  There  was  only  the 
beginning  of  railroads  then.  He  had  to  come  by  a 
mail-coach,  or  by  private  conveyance. 

But  one  day  I  received  from  the  post-office  a  letter 
postmarked  Boston,  directed  to  Mr.  E.  A.  Stevens, 
care  of  Mr.  S.  G.  Hillyer,  Athens,  Georgia.  I  knew 
then  my  friend  was  coming,  and  could  not  be  far  away. 
Sure  enough,  perhaps  the  next  day,  he  came  and  was 
a  guest  at  our  house.  We  gave  him  a  cordial  wel- 
come, and  I  gave  him  what  he  no  doubt  valued  above 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  1 1 1 

all  else  just  then,  the  letter  in  my  care.     It  was  from 
his  affianced  bride,  as  he  soon  informed  me. 

He  spent  several  days  with  us,  and  became  ac- 
quainted with  many  families  of  our  church,  as  well  as 
our  own.  He  had  by  this  time  fully  made  up  his  mind 
to  become  a  foreign  missionary  to  Burma.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  in  1837  the  Missionary  Baptists  of 
the  whole  United  States  were  working  together  under 
the  Triennial  Convention  for  missions ;  and  the 
Foreign  Board,  of  which  our  own  Dr.  Jesse  Mercer 
was  president,  was  located  in  Boston.  Brother  Stevens 
having  been  accepted  by  the  Board  preferred  to  be  or- 
dained in  his  native  State.  Accordingly  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  have  him  ordained  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Convention  which  took  place  that  year  (1837) 
during  the  first  week  in  May,  at  Ruckersville,  Elbert 
County.  He  had  timed  his  visit  to  Athens  in  harmony 
with  this  arrangement.  He  therefore  left  us  in  time  to 
meet  his  engagement  at  Ruckersville,  where  he,  a 
Georgia  Baptist,  was  ordained  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  heathen  in  Burma.  The  following  autumn  was  the 
time  fixed  for  his  departure. 

Consider  what  he  was  leaving.  He  was  leav- 
ing one  of  the  happiest  homes  on  this  globe.  He  was 
leaving  his  father  and  mother,  his  brothers  and  sisters 
in  whose  loving  affection  he  had  lived.  Then  he  was 
renouncing  all  the  comforts  of  an  advanced  civilization, 
and  all  the  possible  emoluments  and  honors  that  might 
await  him  in  his  native  land. 

Consider  again  why  he  made  all  these  sacrifices.  Was 
he  foolish  to  do  it?  Was  he  throwing  away  his  young 
life?  Reader,  I  wish  you  could  have  heard  him  answer 
these  questions  himself.    It  was  my  privilege  to  learn 


112  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

his  reason  for  what  so  many  would  call  an  act  of  folly. 
We  sat  together  one  pleasant  afternoon,  and  we  were 
talking  of  his  mission.  He  knew  what  he  was  leaving. 
He  knew  the  dreadful  exchanges  that  he  was  making; 
but  none  of  these  things  moved  him.  His  eye  beamed 
with  tenderness  and  his  face  was  perfectly  yet  se- 
riously tranquil.  It  was  the  love  of  Jesus  that  was 
moving  him  to  go.  With  love  in  his  heart  he  was  for- 
tified against  every  assault  of  the  tempter.  Presently 
he  said  in  substance,  in  a  low,  gentle  voice,  "O  Brother 
Hillyer,  I  am  so  happy !  It  is  sweet  to  work  for  Je- 
sus."    And  a  pleasant  smile  lighted  up  his  features. 

Reader,  when  you  are  asked  for  missionary  money, 
think  of  this  young  man  and  let  his  zeal  for  Christ 
quicken  your  liberality. 

I  can  not  tell  the  story  of  his  life  in  Burma.  It  must 
suffice  to  say  that  he  gave  the  whole  of  it  to  his  mis- 
sion. His  labors  were  abundantly  useful  as  long  as 
he  lived,  and  as  a  faithful  soldier  he  died  at  his  post, 
and  he  has  no  doubt  received  his  crown  of  victory 
from  the  hand  of  the  King  whom  he  served. 


SECTION    SIX. 
JAMES  O.   SCREVEN. 

James  O.  Screven  was  the  oldest  son  of  Rev.  Charles 
O.  Screven,  who  was  the  founder  of  the  Sunbury 
church  and  its  first  pastor.  His  son,  James  O.,  was 
born  in  February,  1804.  Early  in  the  twenties,  he 
was  a  student  of  the  State  University.  I  remember 
hearing  him  mentioned  as  a  gay,  pleasure-loving  and 
rather   wild   young   man   by   the   boys   with   whom    I 


Rcniinisccnccs  of  Georgia  Baptists.  113 

associated.  I  think  I  met  him  once  at  the  post-office 
in  Athens,  but  he  was  a  student  far  advanced  in  his 
college  course,  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  old,  while  I 
was  in  the  grammar  school,  and  nearly  five  and  a  half 
years  younger. 

About  eight  or  nine  years  later,  in  January,  1832, 
I  met  him  in  Sunbury.  He  then  wanted  only  one 
month  of  being  twenty-eight  years  old.  He  was  no 
longer  a  wild  young  man.  Soon  after  he  returned  from 
college  he  saw  the  error  of  his  ways  and  earnestly 
sought  the  Savior,  and  was  enabled  to  hope  in  his 
mercy.  Accordingly  he  consecrated  himself  to  a  re- 
ligious life  in  baptism.  His  subsequent  life  gave  full 
proof  of  the  genuineness  of  his  conversion.  He  was 
not  a  preacher  in  1832  nor  do  I  know  when  he  was 
licensed  or  ordained,  but  it  could  not  have  been  many 
years  later. 

What  made  him  a  preacher? 

This  question  deserves  to  be  considered.  Brother 
Screven  was  possessed  of  a  fine  estate.  He  did  not 
need  the  meagre  emoluments  of  the  ministry  to  supply 
his  wants.  Then  his  high  social  position  was  on  a 
level  with  the  very  best  people  in  the  community 
around  him.  And  then,  to  fill  to  the  brim  the  measure 
of  his  temporal  prosperity,  he  was  blessed  with  the  love 
of  an  intelligent,  cultured  and  devoted  wife  who  had 
come  to  be  his  companion  for  life.  Looking  at  his 
case  from  a  worldly  standpoint,  what  more  could  he 
desire  to  insure  his  social  and  domestic  happiness? 

Under  these  circumstances  we  may  well  conclude 
that  it  was  no  worldly  motive  that  made  him  a 
preacher.  It  was  the  love  of  Jesus  and  the  love  of 
souls. 


114  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

He  saw  around  him  a  lowly  race  who  for  the  most 
part  knew  not  God,  and  who  had  no  hope  of  heaven^ 
It  was  among  these  people  that  James  Screven 
commenced  his  ministerial  labors.  It  is  said  that  he 
spent  seven  years  in  preaching  to  the  negroes  in  Bryan 
County  and  on  Ossabaw  and  St.  Catherine's  Islands. 
And  it  is  not  likely  that  he  received  any  compensation 
for  his  services. 

But  other  fields  were  opened  up  for  him.  Neverthe- 
less, it  seemed  to  be  his  special  calling  to  preach  for 
the  most  part  to  those  who,  without  him,  would  have 
been  destitute  of  the  gospel. 

His  ministry  covered  a  period  of  about  thirty  years 
of  earnest  and  faithful  labor.  We  can  never  know 
the  good  he  accomplished  till  we  get  to  heaven.  He 
was  a  useful  man  and  a  lovely  character.  He  died  in 
1864,  just  about  sixty  years  old.  His  death  was  a 
triumph.  His  hope  was  undimmed  by  a  single  shadow 
and  he  spoke  with  rapture  of  his  desire  to  be  with 
Jesus.  Thus  this  good  man  died.  His  wife  and  three 
children,  one  son  and  two  daughters,  were  left  to 
mourn  his  loss. 


SECTION  SEVEN. 
CARLOS  W.  STEVENS. 

This  dear  brother  was,  I  think,  next  to  the  youngest 
son  of  Deacon  Oliver  Stevens*.  He  was,  in  1832,  one 
of  my  pupils  in  Sunbury,  but  belonged  to  the  primary 
class,  being  not  more  than  eight  or  nine  years  old.  He 
was  raised  under  the  influence  of  a  pious  father  and 
mother  and  in  the  religious  atmosphere  of  Sunbury. 
Under  these  favorable  conditions  he  was  brought  into 
the  church  at  an  early  age. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  115 

After  my  departure  from  Sunbury  he  continued  to 
enjoy  the  advantages  of  good  academic  instruction  till 
he  was  about  nineteen  years  old.  I  was  then,  in  1843, 
teaching  at  Scottsborough,  near  Milledgeville,  and, 
needing  an  assistant,  I  employed  Carlos  to  come  and 
help  me.  This  he  did  most  satisfactorily.  Being  anx- 
ious, however,  to  prosecute  his  education  beyond  his 
academic  range,  at  the  close  of  the  year  he  left  me 
and  went  first  to  the  State  University  but  afterwards  to 
Mercer  University  at  Penfield.  In  both  these  institu- 
tions he  was  a  most  diligent  student  and  made  fine 
progress. 

About  the  year  1853  he  married  a  lady  of  Hancock 
County  and  for  a  time  was  pastor,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  of  the  church  in  Sparta,  and  perhaps  of  other 
neighboring  churches.  He  was  afterwards  principal 
of  a  high  school.  But  in  these  positions  I  did  not 
know  him  personally.  All  that  I  ever  heard  of  him, 
however,  bore  witness  to  the  very  high  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  cer- 
tainly doing  a  good  work,  and  giving  promise  of  a  use- 
ful life. 

But  his  career  was  brief.  In  the  prime  of  his  man- 
hood he  was  taken  from  us.  What  he  might  have 
achieved  we  know  not,  for  he  left  his  work  unfinished. 

The  lesson  to  be  learned  is  found  in  the  charac- 
ter of  this  dear  young  man.  Of  his  character  I  can 
speak  with  confidence,  for  I  knew  him.  He  seemed  to 
be  endowed  with  true  and  unaffected  modesty.    It  was 

manifested  first  in  his  freedom  from  self-conceit he 

waited  for  others  to  find  out  his  worth.  It  was  mani- 
fest again  in  his  sincere  aversion  to  all  forms  of  vul- 
garity.    This  he  shunned  as  he  would  avoid  contact 


ii6  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

with  outward  defilement.  Another  element  that  gave 
beauty  to  his  character  was  his  docility.  He  delighted 
to  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  elders  and  listen  to  their  words 
of  wisdom.  And  yet  he  was  by  no  means  a  mere  echo- 
man.  He  could  think  for  himself.  But  his  beautiful 
docility  was  most  conspicuous  in  his  child-like  sub- 
mission to  the  teachings  of  the  Bible.  And  this  re- 
veals a  third  element  in  his  character — his  unwaver- 
ing faith.  He  believed  the  Bible  as  a  little  child 
believes  the  words  of  its  mother.  He  would  not,  as 
some  do,  question  either  the  wisdom  or  the  goodness 
of  its  teachings.  Where  he  could  not  see,  he  was  will- 
ing to  walk  by  faith. 

When  to  these  primary  virtues  we  add  his  pure  in- 
tegrity, his  truthfulness,  his  high  sense  of  honor,  his 
far-reaching  benevolence  and  his  ardent  desire  to  lead 
others  to  Christ,  we  have  before  us  a  character  which 
the  angels  would  love.  Such  a  character  was  Brother 
Carlos  W.  Stevens. 

Here  I  .take  leave  of  the  Sunbury  church.  I  hope 
that  my  reminiscences  of  the  nine  ministers  whom  it 
sent  forth  to  work  for  the  Baptists  of  Georgia  have 
not  been  uninteresting  to  my  readers.  May  the  Lord 
help  them  to  emulate  the  virtues  and  the  zeal  of  the 
noble  and  the  good  who  have  passed  before  us  over  the 
river.  '    '    '  ''^ 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


SECTION  ONE. 
SARDIS  CHURCH. 

This  church  is  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Wilkes 
County,  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  Washington, 
the  principal  town  of  the  county.  It  may  be  regarded 
as  a  fair  sample  of  the  Baptist  churches  that  are  lo- 
cated in  the  rural  districts  of  Georgia.  Nevertheless, 
it  stands  among  its  sister  churches  distinguished  by  a 
few  facts  that  deserve  special  notice.  First  of  these 
may  be  mentioned  its  age. 

Sardis  church  was  constituted  in  1788 — a  hundred 
and  nine  years  ago.  Through  all  that  period,  its 
spiritual  vitality,  by  the  grace  of  God,  has  kept  it  as 
one  of  the  golden  candlesticks,  whose  light  has  never 
been  extinguished.  Three  generations  of  saints  in 
regular  succession  have  already  come  and  gone,  and 
the  fourth  is  now  far  on  the  way  to  the  heavenly  Ca- 
naan. The  present  membership  no  doubt  recall  with 
something  like  veneration  the  memory  of  spiritual 
predecessors  to  whose  responsibility  no  less  than  to 
their  privileges  they  have  now  succeeded.  O  brethren 
of  Sardis !  have  you  felt,  as  you  ought,  these  respon- 
sibilities? Cheered  by  the  memories  of  the  past,  and 
enlightened  by  the  "Sun  of  righteousness"  now  shin- 
ing with  constantly  increasing  splendor,  will  you  not 
arise  and  trim  your  lamps  and  "let  your  light  so  shine 

117 


ii8  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

that  others,  seeing  your  good  works,  may  glorify  your 
Father  who  is  in  heaven?" 

Another  thing  that  gives  distinction  to  Sardis 
church  is  the  fact  that  through  its  hundred  and  nine 
years  it  has  had  but  seven  pastors.  Rev.  Jesse  Mercer, 
with  whose  assistance  the  church  was  constituted,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  its  first  pastor.  He  was  then  ( 1788) 
in  the  strength  of  his  early  manhood.  After  serving 
the  church  about  twenty-five  years  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Jeremiah  Reeves.  In  1817  he  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother,  Rev.  Malachi  Reeves,  who  served  till 
1827.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Enoch  Callaway,  who 
served  the  church  till  he  died  in  1859 — thirty-two  years 
after  his  appointment.  Rev.  P.  F.  Burgess  served  until 
1863,  then  L.  R.  L.  Jennings  to  1870.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  B.  M.  Callaway,  who  has  already  held 
the  pastorate  twenty-six  years,  and  it  is  hoped  that  he 
may  continue  to  hold  it  many  years  longer. 

The  average  time,  only  to  the  present  date,  is  very 
nearly  sixteen  years  for  each  one.  But  if  the  present 
incumbent  should  hold  on  ten  or  fifteen  years  longer, 
which  is  not  improbable,  the  average  \^iould  be  largely 
increased. 

This  is  indeed^  remarkable  record,  alike  honorable 
to  the  church  and  to  the  men  who  served  it,  for  such 
a  record  clearly  indicates  that  the  pastors  must  have 
been  wise  and  prudent  in  watching  over  the  church, 
and  able  and  effective  in  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 
On  the  other  hand  it  indicates  that  the  members  were 
free  from  a  fault-finding  spirit,  from  a  capricious  criti- 
cism and  from  a  love  of  novelty.  Having  the  good 
sense  to  appreciate  justly  the  worth  of  their  ministers, 
they  gave  them  cordially  their  confidence  and  their 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  119 

love.  It  was  therefore  easy  for  them  to  Hve  together, 
till  some  providential  cause  should  make  separation  de- 
sirable. 


SECTION  TWO. 
REV.    JEREMIAH    REEVES.* 

This  good  brother  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  in 
1772.  Soon  after  the  Revolutionary  War  his  father 
moved  his  family  to  Georgia  and  settled  in  Wilkes 
County.  In  1804,  when  he  was  thirty-two  years  old, 
he  was  converted  and  united  with  the  Sardis  church. 
I  suppose  he  was  baptized  by  Brother  Mercer,  who 
was  at  that  time  pastor  at  Sardis. 

Two  years  later  he  was  made  a  deacon  of  the 
church  and  soon  began  to  exercise  his  gifts  publicly  in 
prayer  and  in  exhortation.  When  Brother  Mercer  re- 
signed the  care  of  this  church,  the  brethren  desired 
to  call  Brother  Reeves  as  Brother  Mercer's  successor. 
They  therefore  took  steps  to  have  him  ordained,  and 
he  became  for  a  time  their  pastor.  Such  are  some  of 
the  facts  that  I  have  learned  about  the  early  labors  of 
Jeremiah  Reeves. 

How  long  he  served  the  Sardis  church  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  learn  that  his  brother.  Rev.  Malachi 
Reeves,  succeeded  him  perhaps  in  1817.  This  would 
leave  only  a  few  years  for  Brother  Jeremiah's  term  of 
service. 

My  acquaintance  with  him  did  not  begin  till  some 
time  in  the  twenties.     In  a  few  years  after  our  first 

*NoTE.— After  the  publication  of  this  article  it  was  found  that  the  name 
of  Jeremiah  Reeves  does  not  appear  on  the  records  of  Sardis  church,  as  its 
pastor.  But  since  there  was  good  authory,  notably  that'  of  Dr.  Campbell 
in  his  "Georgia  Baptists,"  for  counting  Mr.  Reeves  as  one  of  the  seven 
pastors,  the  author  allowed  this  account  to  remain  unaltered. — Editor. 


I20  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

meeting,  I  came  to  know  him  well  and  to  love  him. 
When  I  was  ordained  I  was  glad  to  have  him  one  of 
those  who  laid  their  hands  upon  my  head.  If  memory 
is  not  at  fault,  he  made  the  ordaining  prayer.  It  was  an 
epoch  in  my  life  no  less  impressive  than  my  baptism. 
About  two  years  after  my  ordination  in  1835,  Brother 
Reeves  died,  in  1837,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 

This  good  man,  like  many  preachers  of  that  genera- 
tion, was  blessed  with  very  little  learning  and  he 
was  poor  in  this  world's  goods.  But  he  was  possessed 
of  excellent  sense.  His  manners  were  discreet,  free 
from  rudeness,  and  very  conciliating  and  kind.  And 
his  crowning  grace  was  his  deep  and  earnest  piety.  It 
is  truly  wonderful  what  a  dignity  religion  can  throw 
around  a  man. 

It  is  Milton  that  tells  us  how  Satan,  when  he  stood 
before  the  angel,  was  "abashed  and  felt  how  awful 
goodness  is."  There  is  something  like  this  among 
men.  When  the  wicked  are  in  the  presence  of  one 
whom  they  know  to  be  a  truly  godly  man,  they  are 
often  impressed  with  feelings  of  respect  that  check 
their  levity  and  hush,  for  a  time,  their  reckless  pro- 
fanity. And  the  case  of  Brother  Reeves  affords  a 
striking  example  of  the  fact. 

In  his  home  he  rightly  gave  to  family  prayer  su- 
preme importance.  No  household  is  safe  without  a 
family  altar.  A  prayerless  family  may  be  wealthy  and 
cultured,  but  the  chances  of  the  children  for  heaven 
are  few  indeed.  In  saying  this,  I  do  not  forget  the 
sovereignty  of  divine  grace  or  God's  electing  love,  but 
as  a  means  of  this  grace  God  has  commanded  you  to 
bring  up  your  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord.  And  there  are  not  better  opportunities  of 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  121 

doing  so  than  those  afforded  by  a  well-served  family 
altar.  Brother  Reeves  fully  recognized  his  duty  in  this 
matter.  He  offered  up  his  morning  and  evening  prayer 
in  his  family  with  faithfulness  and  regularity.  In  such 
a  household  we  might  expect  the  best  results.  I  knew 
but  two  of  his  children ;  they  were  members  of  the 
church.  Three  others  I  have  heard  were  also  members, 
of  the  other  four  I  have  no  knowledge ;  but  with  such 
training  as  they  had,  we  well  may  hope  that  they  all 
walked  in  the  faith  of  their  sainted  father,  for  it  is 
written,  ''Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 

I  can  give  no  details  of  Brother  Reeves's  labors.  I 
only  know  that  they  covered  an  extensive  territory, 
and  were  prosecuted  with  untiring  zeal.  In  his  minis- 
try he  preached  the  gospel,  pleaded  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions and  urged  the  cause  of  temperance.  So  he 
labored  till  he  died. 

His  death,  like  his  life,  was  a  lesson.  He  died  like 
a  Christian,  eager  to  depart  and  be  with  Jesus.  No 
fears  or  misgivings  disturbed  his  last  hours. 

God  does  not  measure  worth  after  the  manner  of 
men.  Such  a  man  as  Jeremiah  Reeves  may  rank  in 
heaven  far  above  many  who  have  filled  the  world  with 
their  fame. 


SECTION  THREE. 
ENOCH    CALLAWAY. 


This  brother  was  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  John  Cal- 
laway, who  came  to  Georgia  from  Halifax  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  1784.  He  brought  with  him  his 
wife  and   several   children.      They   settled   in  Wilkes 


123  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

County  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sardis  Meeting-house. 
His  son  Enoch  was  born  in  1792  and  when  only  six- 
teen years  of  age  he  was  converted  and  joined  the 
church  at  Sardis,  being  baptized  by  Dr.  Jesse  Mercer. 
In  181 1  he  married  a  Miss  Reeves,  a  relative  of  those 
good  men,  Malachi  and  Jeremiah  Reeves,  of  whom 
some  account  has  already  been  given. 

It  came  to  pass  that  he  inherited  the  family  home- 
stead— the  place  where  he  was  born  and  raised — and 
there  he  lived  till  he  died,  in  1859.  And  at  that  home- 
stead he  raised  his  children.  I  have  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  that  old  home  and  of  enjoying  its  fraternal 
hospitality.  It  is  not  a  baronial  castle,  it  is  not  a  pa- 
latial residence  of  a  modern  city ;  it  is  only  a  com- 
fortable, substantial,  country  home,  but  I  ween  it  has 
sheltered  more  true  domestic  happiness  during  the  cen- 
tury of  its  existence  than  many  a  lordly  structure.  For 
at  least  two  generations  the  fire  on  its  family  altar  has 
never  gone  entirely  out.  Its  inmates  have  breathed  the 
atmosphere  of  piety  and  often  enjoyed  the  peace  of 
God,  which  passeth  all  understanding  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-one,  in  1823,  Brother  Enoch 
Callaway  was  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry.  His 
field  of  labor  was  in  Wilkes  and  adjoining  counties. 
In  1827,  I  learn,  he  became  the  pastor  of  Sardis — his 
own  native  church.  No  doubt  there  were  old  men  and 
women  in  that  church  who  remembered  Enoch  Calla- 
way from  his  childhood.  Then  there  were  many  mem- 
bers with  whom  he  had  associated  in  a  most  familiar 
and  intimate  way,  and  yet  somehow  he  had  grown  up 
to  be  the  leader  and  shepherd  of  these  very  people.  The 
situation  was  indeed  a  delicate  one,  requiring  at  once 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  123 

the  wisdom  of  the  serpent  and  the  gentleness  of  the 
dove.  The  case  reminds  us  of  the  ancient  proverb,  "A 
prophet  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own  country." 
But  Brother  Callaway  seems  to  have  been  an  exception 
to  the  rule,  for  he  continued  to  shepherd  the  Sardis 
flock  till  he  was  taken  to  the  ''better  land,"  thirty-two 
years  after  his  appointment. 

His  labors,  however,  were  not  confined  to  Sardis. 
According  to  the  necessities  of  that  day,  he  divided  his 
time  with  other  churches.  One  of  those  churches  was 
County-line,  so  called  because  it  was  near  or  upon  the 
line  which  separated  two  adjacent  counties.  It  was 
about  sixteen  miles  from  Penfield.  It  so  happened  that 
while  I  was  connected  with  Mercer  University  I  had 
the  opportunity  of  preaching,  as  a  supply,  to  the 
County-line  people,  on  a  vacant  Sunday  for  about  a 
year.  I  thus  became  well  acquainted  with  them.  And 
though  I  could  not  meet  Brother  Callaway  personallv, 
as  he  was  filling  appointments  elsewhere,  nevertheless 
I  met  his  influence.  It  was  easy  to  discover  the  deep 
affection  of  the  members  for  their  beloved  pastor.  And 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  such  was  his  standing  with 
all  the  churches  that  he  served  through  the  -whole  of 
his  ministerial  life.  And  we  may  well  conclude  that 
his  life  was  a  success. 

Brother  Callaway  was  not  a  scholar.  His  educa- 
tional advantages  were  few.  He  had  his  Bible,  a  copy 
of  Gill's  Commentaries  and  an  English  dictionary.  Be- 
sides these  he  may  have  had  a  very  few  common  books. 
But  he  made  diligent  use  of  his  meager  library ;  es- 
pecially he  made  the  Bible  his  study.  And  he  brought 
to  the  study  of  it  a  sanctified  heart  and  a  mind  re- 
markably well  endowed  by  nature.     With  these  gifts 


124  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

he  was  able  to  grasp  the  essential  truths  of  revealed 
religion,  and  to  expound  them  correctly  to  those  who 
heard  him.  His  ability  to  do  this  was  a  basal  element 
in  his  success  as  a  preacher. 

But  in  attempting  to  account  for  his  success,  we  find- 
in  him  another  element  of  character  that  must  not  be 
overlooked.  I  allude  to  his  extreme  caution  in  forming^ 
his  judgments.  It  is  said  by  one  who  knew  him  most 
intimately  that  when  a  question  which  he  had  not  al- 
ready decided  was  presented  to  him,  he  was  never  in; 
haste  to  answer  it.  Not  until  he  had  carefully  con- 
sidered it  in  all  its  bearings  would  he  attempt  to  answer 
it.  The  consequence  was  that  when  he  did  render  an 
answer,  he  very  seldom  had  to  retract  it  or  even  to 
modify  it.  This  habit  of  mind  inspired  his  people  with 
great  confidence  in  his  judgments,  while  it  qualified 
him  to  lead  his  flock  to  the  green  pastures  and  the 
flowing  fountains  of  divine  truth.  No  wonder  he 
could  hold  his  people  through  his  long  pastorate. 

Again,  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  without  training  of 
the  schools  he  delivered  his  sermons  extemporane- 
ously, in  language  that  was  perspicuous  and  forcible 
and  seldom  defaced  with  a  grammatical  error. 

To  these  qualities  of  mind  we  must  add  his  earnest 
faith  before  we  complete  his  character.  Brother  Calla- 
way believed  the  Bible.  He  never  inquired  what  the 
Bible  ought  to  teach,  but  he  was  content  to  learn  what 
it  does  teach.  The  first  question  no  human  intellect 
is  able  to  answer,  but  the  second  question  lies  within 
the  reach  of  every  sincere  and  honest  inquirer.  It  was 
in  this  spirit  we  may  safely  infer  from  all  the  facts 
above  mentioned  that  Brother  Enoch  Callaway  studied 
the  Scriptures  most  faithfully. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  125 

It  has  been  before  stated  that  this  good  man  was 
ordained  in  1823,  became  pastor  of  Sardis  church  in 
1827  and  died  in  1859,  These  figures  give  thirty-six 
years  for  the  whole  period  of  his  ministry  and  thirty- 
two  years  for  his  pastorate  of  Sardis  church.  He  was, 
at  his  death,  sixty-seven  years  old. 

I  delight  to  contemplate  such  a  character  as  his.  And 
I  rejoice  all  the  more  when  I  reflect  that  for  a  hundred 
years  there  have  been  among  our  Baptist  preachers  in 
Georgia  scores  and  hundreds  just  like  him.  Such  men 
are  witnesses  for  Christ.  When  one  goes  forth  to 
preach  the  gospel  endowed  with  the  learning  of  the 
schools  there  is  danger  that  the  world  will  ascribe  his 
success  to  his  learning,  and  there  is  some  danger  that 
he  himself  may  feel  flattered  by  its  judgment  and  be- 
come proud  of  his  honors.  But  when  one  goes  forth 
with  very  little  learning  beyond  his  spelling-book  and 
his  reader,  trusting  to  the  living  God,  and  drawing  his 
wisdom  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  then  his  success 
makes  him  a  witness  for  Christ  whose  testimony  the 
logic  of  a  thousand  Ingersolls  shall  never  be  able  to 
overthrow.  True,  in  the  present  condition  of  the 
world  we  must  have  a  learned  ministry.  But  no 
amount  of  learning  can  be  a  substitute  for  an  indwell- 
ing Christ. 


SECTION  FOUR. 
JOSHUA  S.   CALLAWAY. 


I  have  spoken  of  the  pastors  of  Sardis  church.  The 
seventh  pastor.  Rev.  B.  M.  Callaway,  the  youngest  son 
of  Rev.  Enoch  Callaway,  is  still  living,  having  reached 
already  about  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  his  pastorate. 


126  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

As  I  am  dealing  chiefly  with  those  who  have  passed 
away,  I  must  leave  him,  hoping  that  when,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  he  shall  have  finished  his  course  with  joy,  some 
future  writer,  who  shall  love  him  as  well  as  I  do,  may 
furnish  the  Baptists  of  the  twentieth  century  a  remin- 
iscence worthy  of  his  name  and  work. 

Besides  its  pastors,  Sardis  church  has  given  to 
Georgia  quite  a  number  of  prominent  and  useful  men. 
One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  these  was  Rev. 
Joshua  S.  Callaway. 

This  brother  was  born  in  Wilkes  County,  Georgia, 
in  1789.  He  was  a  cousin  of  Rev.  Enoch  Callaway. 
His  parents  were  members  of  Sardis  church.  In  1800, 
when  Joshua  was  only  eleven  years  old  he  obtained  a 
hope  in  Jesus.  His  experience,  for  one  so  young,  was 
remarkable.  We  have  an  account  of  it  on  record  given 
by  himself  in  his  own  words.  I  wish  I  had  space  to 
report  it  in  full.  It  would  be  very  interesting  and  in- 
structive, for  it  shows  how  clearly  a  little  boy  can  be 
made  by  the  grace  of  God  to  understand  and  to  apply 
to  his  own  comfort  the  plan  of  salvation  through  faith 
in  the  crucified  Savior. 

He  did  not,  however,  immediately  join  the  church. 
This  was  not  his  fault.  His  older  friends,  yielding  to 
a  general  distrust  about  the  conversion  of  young 
children,  dissuaded  him  from  doing  so.  It  was 
not  till  he  had  reached  his  twentieth  year  that  he  was 
baptized  by  Doctor  Mercer.  What  may  have  been  the 
incidents  of  his  religious  experience  through  those  nine 
years  of  waiting,  I  am  not  able  to  tell.  But  another 
period  of  about  ten  years  passed  away,  during  which 
he  remained  in  Wilkes  County. 

Not  long  after  his  baptism  he  married  the  daughter 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  127 

of  Mr.  Pitt  Milner,  who  was  also  a  member  of  Sardis 
church.  Though  his  opportunities  for  obtaining  an 
education  had  been  very  poor,  his  thirst  for  knowledge 
made  him  a  diligent  student.  Such  was  his  success 
that  in  due  time  he  became  "a  profound  theologian — 
deeply  versed  in  the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the 
gospel" ;  and  after  he  entered  the  ministry,  he  was  re- 
garded by  those  who  knew  him  as  "an  exceedingly  in- 
teresting and  powerful  preacher." 

In  1818  he  removed  to  Jones  County,  where  he 
joined  a  church  bearing  the  same  name  as  the  one  he 
had  left  in  Wilkes.  It  was  this  church  that  called  him 
to  ordination.  He  was  accordingly  ordained  in  June, 
1820,  by  Edmund  Talbot,  Benjamin  Milner,  and  John 
M.  Gray. 

Very  soon  after  his  ordination  he  found  himself  in 
charge  of  four  churches.  To  serve  them  faithfully  re- 
quired very  nearly  his  whole  time.  He  could  give  but 
little  attention  to  his  business  at  home.  He  was  walk- 
ing in  the  footsteps  of  many  a  Baptist  preacher  of  the 
years  that  had  passed.  But  in  this  trying  emergency 
his  noble  wife  said  to  him :  "You  go  and  preach,  and 
I  will  stay  at  home  and  work."  She  was  a  bright  ex- 
ample of  the  mothers  and  wives  who  have  adorned  our 
churches  in  Georgia.  But  her  zeal  might  have  been 
more  than  her  strength,  had  it  not  been  supplemented 
by  the  generous  fidelity  of  a  faithful  deacon,  whose 
name  was  Thomas  Blount.  In  speaking  afterwards  to 
a  friend  of  these  early  trials.  Brother  Callaway  said : 
"But  for  the  instrumentality  of  this  kind  brother,  I 
should  have  been  obliged  to  give  up  my  churches,  and 
work  at  home  to  support  my  family."  Behold  the 
value  of  a  faithful  deacon !    Let  not  this  lesson  be  lost. 


128  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Brother  Callaway  labored  ten  years  in  Jones  County, 
and  with  great  acceptance.  He  then  moved  to  Henry 
County.  And  after  a  while  he  settled  in  or  near  Jones- 
boro  and  became  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  that 
place,  which  pastorate  he  held  until  his  death. 

It  was  in  this  field  that  he  did  the  best  work  of  his 
life.  He  soon  won  the  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him, 
and  wielded  great  influence  throughout  the  bounds  of 
the  Flint  River  Association.  His  coming  into  it  was 
timely.  It  was  just  when  Georgia  Baptists  were  in 
trouble  on  the  subject  of  missions  and  other  benevo- 
lent works.  The  controversy  was  rife  in  the  Flint 
River  Association.  At  first  some  thought  it  doubtful 
on  which  side  the  new-comer  would  stand,  but  he  did 
not  leave  them  long  in  doubt.  He  soon  identified  him- 
self with  the  friends  of  all  benevolent  enterprises.  In- 
deed, such  was  his  influence  that  he  became  their 
leader. 

The  opposition  was  led  by  Rev.  William  Moseley, 
one  of  the  ablest  men  among  the  anti-missionaries.  At 
least  one  association,  the  Ocmulgee,  and  perhaps 
others,  had  already  declared,  by  resolution,  "non-fel- 
lowship with  all  so-called  benevolent  enterprises  of  the 
day."  The  question  was  obliged  to  come,  sooner  or 
later,  before  the  Flint  River  Association. 

Elder  Moseley  and  Elder  Callaway  were  both  strong 
men.  They  were  for  a  time  good  friends.  They 
preached  together,  and  sometimes  when  they  were  at  a 
meeting  they  would,  while  the  congregation  was  col- 
lecting, withdraw  to  some  retired  spot  and  there  kneel 
and  pray  for  one  another.  But  when  the  question  of 
missions  was  brought  before  the  Association,  these 
two  men  were  on  opposite  sides.     The  subject  was 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  129 

1)rought  before  the  body  in  the  form  of  a  resokition 
similar  in  meaning  to  those  passed  by  other  associa- 
tions, declaring  "non-fellowship  with  the  so-called  be- 
nevolent institutions  of  the  day."  These  institutions  in- 
cluded missions.  Sunday-schools  and  temperance  so- 
cieties. A  motion  was  made  to  adopt  the  resolution. 
This  led  to  an  earnest  debate  on  both  sides.  At  length 
Elder  Callaway,  who  was  the  moderator,  calling 
another  brother  to  take  his  seat,  came  to  the  floor  and 
addressed  the  Association  against  the  resolution.  The 
effect  of  his  speech  was  to  secure  a  large  majority  on 
his  side.  He  then  addressed  himself  directly  to  the 
friends  of  the  resolution  and  entreated  them  in  tender 
and  loving  words  not  to  withdraw  from  the  Associa- 
tion. But  this  last  appeal  was  of  no  avail.  When  the 
vote  was  taken  and  the  resolution  was  lost,  its  advo- 
cates^  with  Elder  Moseley  at  their  head,  withdrew  in  a 
body.  The  churches  which  they  represented  were 
anti-missionary  churches.  In  a  little  while  these 
churches  formed  a  new  association — the  Towaliga.  But 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Flint  River  Association  was  saved 
to  the  cause  of  missions  and  in  due  time  joined  the 
Georgia  Baptist  Convention.  Elder  Callaway  held  the 
moderator's  chair  of  the  Flint  River  Association  fifteen 
years,  even  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

How  many  people  he  baptized  is  not  known.  But 
it  is  known  that  for  some  years  he  kept  a  memoran- 
dum of  all  his  baptisms  till  they  amounted  to  one 
thousand  and  four  hundred,  and  then  for  some  reason 
discontinued  the  record. 

His  death-bed  was  a  great  triumph,  as  was  his  long 
and  useful  life.  He  was  stricken  in  the  pulpit.  By 
some  accident  his  coat  on  that  morning  was  found  to 


130  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

be  quite  wet  about  the  collar  and  shoulders.  Efforts 
were  made  to  dry  it  and  he  concluded  that  it  was  suffi- 
ciently so  to  protect  him  from  cold.  But  it  proved  to 
be  otherwise.  While  preaching  he  was  suddenly 
stricken  with  a  chill.  He  called  one  of  his  brethren  to 
his  side  that  he  might  be  ready  to  help  him  if  he  should 
fall  and  then  proceeded  to  finish  his  sermon — the  last 
one  he  ever  preached.  He  was  carried  home  and  put 
to  bed.  Severe  illness  followed  and  it  was  soon  ap- 
parent that  his  end  was  near.  He  knew  his  con- 
dition and  he  was  ready  to  meet  it.  During  his  sick- 
ness, Elder  Moseley  came  to  see  him.  They  had  not 
met  since  that  terrible  day  in  the  Association  when 
they  seemed  to  be  rent  asunder  by  the  spirit  of  the 
controversy.  As  he  came  in  he  was  welcomed  and  in- 
vited to  a  seat  close  by  the  sufferer.  They  talked  to- 
gether for  awhile.  Presently  Elder  Moseley  said  in 
substance :  "Brother  Callaway  I  heard  you  were  sick ; 
I  felt  a  desire  to  come  and  see  you.  I  thought  of  the 
times  when  we  preached  together  and  prayed  for  one 
another  in  the  woods,  and  I  could  not  be  satisfied  with- 
out seeing  you.  And  now.  Brother  Callaway,  I  want  to 
kneel  here  by  your  bed  and  pray  with  you  once  more." 
Of  course  all  present  were  glad  to  have  him  do  so.  He 
prayed  most  feelingly.  When  he  arose  from  his  knees, 
he  said  again :  "Now,  Brother  Callaway,  I  want  to 
wash  your  feet."  Well,  there  was  no  evading  his  ap- 
peal ;  preparations  were  made  and  there  you  might 
have  seen  this  uncompromising  anti-missionary  on  his 
knees  washing  the  feet  of  his  missionary  brother.  Say 
that  he  was  a  "hard-shell"  if  you  please,  but  the  above 
incident  proves  that  Elder  Moseley  loved  Jesus  and  his 
brother. 


Reiniiiisccnccs  of  Georgia  Baptists.  131 

Brother  Callaway's  last  work  was  to  dictate  a  lov- 
ing farewell  letter  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  pas- 
tor. I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  that  letter.  It 
breathes  the  most  intense  desire  for  the  spiritual 
growth  and  comfort  of  his  beloved  people. 

Thus  ended  the  life  of  Rev.  Joshua  S.  Callaway.  Its 
simple  story  illustrates  a  great  and  noble  character 
worthy  of  our  respect  and  of  our  emulation.  He  was 
three  times  married  and  left  a  large  family  of  children 
and  grandchildren.  May  his  numerous  descendants 
follow  the  example  of  their  noble  ancestor. 


SECTION  FIVE. 
PITT  MILNER  AND  JOHN   MILNER. 

These  two  brothers  were  both  members  of  Sardis 
church  and  their  early  religious  lives  were  nurtured 
under  its  influence,  and  therefore  their  years  of  subse- 
cjuent  usefulness  should  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  that 
church. 

I  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  either  of  these 
brethren,  but  their  names  have  been  familiar  to  me  for 
many  years,  and  I  have  known  some  of  their  descend- 
ants. I  will  speak  first  of  the  elder  of  these  two 
brothers — 

Pitt  Milner. 

He  was  known  among  the  churches  of  his  day  as  an 
exhorter.  He  was  never  ordained  to  the  ministry.  I 
do  not  know  that  he  ever  was  made  a  deacon.  He  seems 
to  have  been  only  a  lay  member  of  the  church.  But  he 
was  endowed  in  a  marked  degree  with  the  gift  of  ex- 
hortation. His  earnest  piety,  his  love  of  souls,  his 
strong,  good  sense,  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures 
10 


132  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

and  his  fluent  speech,  richly  quaHfied  him  for  this  spe- 
cial function. 

In  the  time  of  Pitt  Milner  and  for  years  afterwards, 
exhortation  was  an  element  of  power  among  our  Geor- 
gia churches.  Nor  need  we  be  surprised  that  it  should 
be  so,  for  exhortation  is  emphasized  by  Paul  as  one  of 
the  spiritual  gifts  which  was  expected  to  be  found  in 
the  apostolic  churches,  and  in  his  instructions  he  did 
not  fail  to  enjoin  its  use. 

As  an  exhorter  Brother  Milner  was  in  great  de- 
mand. Brother  Mercer,  while  pastor  of  the  Sardis 
church,  would  often  call  upon  him  to  follow  his  own 
sermons  with  words  of  exhortation.  He  was  not 
afraid  that  his  gifted  lay  brother  would  impair  the 
efifect  of  the  sermon,  but  hoped  rather  that  he  would 
seize  the  salient  points  and  give  to  them  perhaps  even 
greater  weight  with  his  earnest  and  fervent  thoughts. 
And  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  often  intensified  the 
force  of  the  mighty  truths  which  had  fallen  from  the 
preacher's  lips.  His  fame  extended  far  and  wide  in 
Wilkes  and  the  adjacent  counties  and  nowhere  was  he 
a  mere  cipher  in  a  religious  gathering  when  a  door 
was  opened  for  him  to  speak.  Moreover,  his  labors 
were  a  free-will  offering.  It  may  be  assumed  as 
certain  that  he  never  received  a  cent  for  any  of  his 
exhortations.  He  laid  them  of  his  own  free  will  upon 
the  golden  altar,  whence  they  went  up  as  incense  to  the 
great  white  throne  in  the  most  holy  place  in  heaven. 

But  where  are  our  exhorters  now?  Has  the  gift  of 
exhortation  been  withheld  from  our  churches?  I  hope 
not,  and  yet  in  many  of  our  most  conspicuous  churches 
this  precious  gift  seems  to  be  in  a  state  of  sad  paralysis, 
especially  among  the  lay  members  of  the  church.  This 


Reuiiniscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  133 

is  greatly  to  be  deplored.  Will  not  our  male  readers 
consider  and  study  the  example  of  Pitt  Milner?  He 
stands  as  a  beacon-light  before  you.  All  you  need  to 
reproduce  the  good  which  he  was  able  to  do  is  to  emu- 
late his  fervent  piety  and  his  deep  compassion  for  the 
lost.  Brethren,  in  your  prayer-meetings,  whether  in 
the  meeting-house  or  in  the  parlors  of  your  neighbors, 
you  may  find  frequent  opportunity  to  speak  a  word  for 
Jesus. 

I  know  not  the  incidents  of  Brother  Milner's  life. 
So  I  must  be  content  to  give  this  imperfect  sketch  of 
him. 

He  left  seven  children,  and  many  of  his  descendants 
are  now  living — some  in  Georgia  and  some  in  Ala- 
bama, and  possibly  other  States  still  farther  west.  A 
granddaughter,  Mrs.  Apsyllah  A.  Harman,  widow  of 
Col.  Z.  E.  Harman,  is  living  in  Atlanta,  and  Rev.  Pitt 
Milner  Callaway,  a  grandson,  in  Alabama.  Another 
granddaughter  is  Mrs.  Birnita  M.  Head.  These  are 
children  of  Rev.  Joshua  S.  Callaway,  and  their  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  Pitt  Milner. 

John  Milner. 
When  this  brother  joined  the  church  he  soon  be- 
came its  clerk.  Then  he  was  appointed  one  of  its  dea- 
cons. He  too  was  an  exhorter  for  a  time,  but  ulti- 
mately he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  and  devoted  to 
it  in  faithfulness  and  with  zeal  the  balance  of  his  life. 
His  labors  extended  over  a  wide  field  and  his  preach- 
ing was  well  received  among  those  who  heard  him.  I 
learn  that  he  once  owned  the  tract  of  land  on  which  the 
town  of  Barnesville,  in  Pike  County,  now  stands.  His 
oldest  son  lived  upon  that  land  and,  as  was  natural,  his 


134  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

father  was  sometimes  his  guest.  He  thus  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  people  of  the  neighborhood.  He 
found  among  them  a  few  Baptists  as  sheep  without  a 
shepherd.  Ever  mindful  of  the  Master's  work,  he 
began  to  labor  among  them  and  soon  organized  a  little 
church  of  twelve  members  and  it  was  called  Sardis 
church.  In  1827  he  himself  made  his  home  near  this 
church,  where  he  lived  and  labored  till  his  death  in 
1841.  By  that  time  the  little  church  of  twelve  members 
had  on  its  roll  nearly  a  hundred  names.  It  came  to 
pass  that  the  town  of  Barnesville  grew  up  around  it 
and  it  became  one  of  the  strongest  churches  in  the 
association  to  which  it  belonged. 

Brother  John  Milner  was  blessed  with  one  gift 
which  is  worthy  of  notice.  He  was  one  of  the  "sweet 
singers  in  Israel."  When  I  was  a  boy  I  heard  the  old 
folks  around  me  speaking  with  admiration  of  his  sing- 
ing. If  his  brother,  Pitt,  was  distinguished  for  his 
effective  exhortations,  he  himself  seems  to  have  been 
no  less  distinguished  for  his  effective  singing.  An  il- 
lustration of  his  power  may  be  found  in  the  following 
anecdote.  I  heard  it  perhaps  fifty  years  ago,  from  a 
pious  lady  who  I  think  knew  him  personally  and  who 
had  felt  his  power  in  sacred  song.  The  story  is  to  this 
effect : 

On  one  occasion  when  some  distance  from  home'^in 
a  section  of  country  where  he  was  a  stranger,  it  hap- 
pened that  he  spent  a  night  at  a  village  inn,  or  tavern, 
as  it  was  then  called.  The  weather  was  cold  and  the 
only  fire  he  had  access  to  was  in  the  office  of  the  inn. 
Those  who  know  anything  about  the  village  tavern  in 
the  early  decades  of  this  century  will  remember  that 
the  office  thereof  was  often  made  the  gathering-place 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  135 

of  the  idlers  about  the  town.  There  they  could  drink 
their  toddy  at  the  bar  that  usually  occupied  one  corner 
of  the  room  and  revel,  if  they  pleased,  till  midnight.  It 
was  in  such  a  room  as  this  that  the  tired  preacher 
sat  down  after  supper  to  wait  for  bedtime.  Presently, 
however,  the  room  began  to  be  filled  with  the  aforesaid 
idlers.  They  took  no  notice  of  the  quiet  stranger  that 
sat  on  one  side  by  the  fire.  Those  who  felt  inclined  no 
doubt  imbibed  their  toddy  at  the  bar,  but  soon  they 
were  seated  in  a  semi-circle  around  the  wide  hearth- 
stone. They  were  evidently  intent  upon  having  a  so- 
called  "good  time."  Hilarity,  provoked  by  rude  jests 
and  coarse  wit,  seemed  to  rule  the  hour.  After  a  while, 
one  of  the  party  was  called  upon  for  a  song.  And 
after  him  another  and  another,  till  several  had  sung. 
We  may  well  imagine  what  would  likely  be  the  charac- 
ter of  the  songs  in  such  a  crowd.  At  length  one  of 
the  revelers  turned  to  Mr.  Milner,  who  had  not  smiled 
during  the  evening,  and  said,  "Stranger,  can  you  not 
give  us  a  song?" 

"With  all  my  heart,"  said  he,  and  rising  from  his 
seat,  he  stood  for  a  moment  erect,  till  every  eye  was 
fixed  upon  him.  Then  with  his  melodious  voice  he 
sang  that  old  hymn  which  may  still  be  found  in  "Mer- 
cer's Cluster,"  beginning  thus : 

"Stop,  poor  sinner,  stop  and  think 

Before  you  farther  go ; 
Can  you  sport  upon  the  brink 

Of  everlasting  woe?" 

I  wish  I  could  quote  all  the  hymn,  but  it  contains 
five  double  stanzas  besides  the  chorus.  Milner,  how- 
ever, sang  the  whole  of  it  to  that  reckless  company 


136  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

before  him.  When  he  closed  and  resumed  his  seat 
the  room  was  as  silent  as  the  grave.  In  a  few  minutes 
one  of  the  company  picked  up  his  hat  and  walked  out ; 
another  quickly  followed  and  then  others,  till  in  a  very 
short  time  the  stranger  was  again  alone  in  the  room. 
What  good  that  song  may  have  done  we  know  not 
now,  but  we  may  find  its  results  in  heaven. 

This  good  man  died  in  1841,  leaving,  I  think,  sev- 
eral children  and  many  grandchildren  to  revere  his 
memory. 

And  now  I  must  take  leave  of  Sardis  church.  I 
have  lingered  with  pleasure  upon  the  memory  of  her 
sainted  dead.  And  as  the  evening  cloud  reflects  the 
beams  of  the  setting  sun  back  upon  the  western  land- 
scape, so  may  these  reminiscences  reflect  the  departing 
glory  of  their  instructive  lives  back  upon  the  present 
generation. 

SECTION  SIX. 
JAMES  REEVES. 

Of  this  good  brother  I  have  no  personal  recollec- 
tions whatever.  I  do  not  remember  even  seeing  him. 
What  I  know  of  him,  therefore,  is  derived  from  other 
sources  than  my  own  acquaintance  with  him.  My  in- 
formation, however,  is  authentic  and  reliable.  I  hope, 
therefore,  I  need  no  apology  for  giving  him  a  place  in 
these  reminiscences. 

Rev.  James  Reeves  was  the  brother  of  Rev.  Jere- 
miah Reeves  and  Rev.  Malachi  Reeves.  There  was 
also  another  brother — a  preacher  whose  name  was 
John — but  of  him  I  have  very  little  information.  Of 
Jeremiah  and  Malachi  I  have  already  written. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  137 

Rev.  James  Reeves  was  born  in  1784,  in  Guilford, 
North  Carolina.  He  came  to  Georgia  with  his  father's 
family.  He  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  in  1814  when 
he  was  thirty  years  old.  From  that  time  he  devoted 
himself  with  great  zeal  and  self-denial  to  the  work  to 
which  the  Lord  had  called  him. 

Like  most  of  his  associates  in  the  ministry  of  that 
day  he  had  enjoyed  but  few  opportunities  to  attend 
school.  But  he  was  a  diligent  reader  of  the  Bible  and 
became  so  familiar  with  it  that  he  was  called  by  his 
friends  a  "^walking  concordance."  His  piety  was  deep 
and  earnest.  His  love  of  souls  seemed  to  be  the  ruling 
passion  of  his  heart.  This  was  manifest  not  only  in  the 
pulpit,  but  in  the  walks  of  social  and  of  business  life. 
He  was  on  the  watch  for  an  opportunity  to  speak  a 
word  for  Jesus  to  his  luibelieving  neighbors.  And  it  is 
said  that  his  loving  efforts  were  often  crowned  with 
success.  His  life  was  a  bright  and  shining  light  in 
whatever  circle  he  moved. 

As  a  preacher  he  seemed  to  prefer  to  labor  among 
the  people  of  the  frontiers  of  the  white  population. 
He  settled  in  Jasper  County  soon  after  it  was  redeemed 
from  the  Indians.  He  at  once  went  about  with  his 
message  of  love  and  salvation  among  the  scattered  set- 
tlers of  the  new  county.  He  may  have  found  here  and 
there  a  Baptist  family  from  some  of  the  older  counties, 
but  there  was  hardly  an  organized  church  or  even  a 
Baptist  meeting-house  in  all  that  region.  This  condi- 
tion of  things,  however,  did  not  discourage  Brother 
Reeves.  While  he  remained  in  Jasper  he  preached  far 
and  wide  through  that  county.  But  it  seems  he  gloried 
in  being  a  pioneer  preacher.  Hence  when  the  county 
of  Butts  was  opened  to  white  settlers  and  emigrants 


138  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

began  to  come  into  it,  he  gave  up  his  home  in  Jasper 
and  moved  to  the  new  county.  And  when  the  tide  of 
civihzation  still  flowed  westward  towards  the  Chatta- 
hoochee he  followed  it,  till  finally  he  made  his  home 
in  Troup  County,  eight  miles  from  LaGrange.  His 
labors  covered  in  all  nine  counties  of  Georgia  and  ex- 
tended somewhat  into  the  eastern  counties  of  Ala- 
bama. 

It  is  said  that  of  the  many  churches  that  he  served 
he  was  not  only  their  pastor  but  their  founder.  He 
was  present  at  the  organization  of  the  Western  Associa- 
tion, and  was  chosen  to  be  its  first  moderator.  This 
small  fact  evinces  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was 
held  by  his  contemporaries. 

But  preaching  and  baptizing  and  organizing  new 
churches  and  building  meeting-houses,  all-important  as 
these  works  were,  did  not  make  the  sum  total  of  Elder 
Reeves's  usefulness.  He  was  with  our  missionary 
fathers  in  their  struggles  with  the  anti-missionaries 
that  at  one  time  were  in  our  Georgia  churches.  Elder 
Reeves  stood  fast  to  his  missionary  brethren.  Nor 
was  this  all.  He  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  tem- 
perance cause  and  of  Sunday-schools.  There  is  no 
computing  the  good  that  he  and  a  few  kindred  spirits 
may  have  done  in  saving  so  large  a  portion  of  Wes- 
tern Georgia  from  the  blighting  effects  of  that  sad 
error  which  dominated  our  anti-missionary  brethren. 

He  was  twice  married.  He  had  ten  children  of  his 
own  and  five  stepchildren.  It  is  said  he  presided  over 
the  two  sets  of  children  with  uniform  kindness  and 
impartiality :  that  his  family  altar  was  never  neglected ; 
and  that  he  Vv^ould,  wlien  ciuite  sick,  rise  from  his  bed 
to  conduct  fam.ilv  worship.    Ke  was  also  careful  of  the 


Reminiscenscs  of  Georgia  Baptists.  139 

spiritual  welfare  of  his  servants.  He  often  called 
them  together  and  read  to  them  the  Scriptures  and  ex- 
plained their  meaning  in  words  that  his  humble  listen- 
ers could  understand. 

His  ministry  extended  through  a  period  of  forty 
years  and  covered  a  very  large  and  important  territory. 
Through  those  years  and  throughout  that  territory  he 
was  a  practical  missionary.  To  fill  such  a  field  for  so 
long  a  time  called  into  exercise  those  elements  of  the 
soul  that  constitute  the  true  hero.  And  we  believe 
when  the  judgment  comes,  scores  of  those  Georgia 
preachers,  of  whom  Elder  Reeves  was  but  an  example 
and  a  type,  shall  wear  a  brighter  crown  than  ever 
graced  a  monarch's  brow. 

I  have  said  that  Brother  Reeves  raised  a  large  family 
of  children.  Of  these  I  learn  nearly  all  became  mem- 
bers of  Baptist  churches.  Only  two  of  his  sons  sur- 
vived him.  One  is  Rev.  J.  F.  Reeves,  now  of  Valdosta, 
Georgia.  He  has  had  an  interesting  experience  in  the 
ministry,  but  as  he  still  lives  I  leave  it  to  some  future 
scribe  to  write  the  story  of  his  life.  Another  son,  a 
brother  of  J.  F.,  is  living  somewhere  in  Arkansas.  Two 
grandsons  are  also  in  the  ministry,  and  are  laboring  in 
Georgia.  Thus  the  influence  of  their  father  has  been 
continued  to  the  third  generation  and  we  hope  it  may 
yet  continue  far  into  the  coming  future. 

Brother  Reeves  exhibited  in  his  death  the  same 
characteristics  that  distinguished  his  life — love  of 
souls  and  faith  in  God.  Not  long  before  he  died  he 
asked  a  brother  minister  who  was  sitting  at  his  bedside 
and  whom  he  loved  to  help  him  to  his  arm-chair  that  he 
might  pray  with  his  family  one  more  time  before  he 
died.    Then,  to  the  brother  who  sat  by  he  said  in  sub- 


140  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

stance:  "If  I  should  break  down  before  I  finish  my 
prayer  let  there  be  no  excitement,  but  you  take  up  the 
prayer  where  I  leave  off  and  finish  it  for  me."  Well, 
he  was  placed  in  his  arm-chair  and  successfully  offered 
in  his  last  audible  prayer.  In  contemplating  such  a 
death  as  this,  even  the  unbeliever  might  well  exclaim, 
as  Balaam  did  when  he  beheld  the  glory  of  Israel,  "Let 
me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end 
be  like  his!" 

Reader,  would  you  not  like  to  die  the  death  of  the 
righteous?  Then  be  not  like  Balaam,  who  loved  the 
"wages  oif  unrighteousness."  Ah !  there  was  thie 
trouble  with  Balaam.  He  knew  the  blessedness  that 
belongs  to  the  death  of  the  righteous,  but  he  knew 
not  the  blessedness  of  his  life.  He  loved  the  world, 
he  would  not  live  the  life  of  the  righteous  and  he  died 
in  battle  fighting  against  the  people  of  God.  Walk  not, 
my  brother,  in  the  footsteps  of  Balaam,  but  live  the  life 
of  the  righteous  and  then  your  death  shall  be  like  his. 

May  the  God  of  our  fathers  continue  to  guide  and  to 
bless  our  Georgia  Baptists ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 


SECTION  ONE. 
N.   M.   CRAWFORD. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1826,  when  I  was  sixteen 
years  and  six  months  old,  I  first  met  Nathaniel  Macon 
Crawford,  then  a  boy  perhaps  eighteen  months  younger 
than  myself.  The  place  of  meeting  was  Franklin  Col- 
lege (now  the  State  University). 

He  entered  college  with  a  prestige  that  no  other 
student  at  that  time  could  claim.  He  was  the  son  of 
Hon.  William  H.  Crawford,  who  was  Georgia's  great 
statesman — the  idol  of  the  party  which  then  dominated 
the  politics  of  Georgia.  And  it  so  happened  that  in 
1826  a  very  large  majority  of  the  young  men  in  col- 
lege, though  for  the  most  part  too  young  to  vote,  were 
in  sympathy  with  that  party.  Hence  when  young 
Crawford  came  among  them  as  a  fellow  student,  they 
received  him  gladly,  even  proudly. 

Such  a  reception  with  such  a  prestige  as  his  would 
have  turned  the  head  and  made  a  fool  of  many  a  youth. 
But  it  had  no  effect  on  N.  M.  Crawford.  He  did  not 
seem  to  know  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  prestige, 
I  remember  his  very  first  recitation.  It  was  in  geome- 
try. When  it  came  his  turn  to  go  to  the  blackboard,  he 
rose  modestly,  but  with  perfect  self-possession,  and 
walked  across  the  room  to  where  the  board  stood, 
picked  up  the  chalk  and  drew  the  diagram.     Then, 

141 


142  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

returning  to  his  seat,  he  faced  the  blackboard  and  pro- 
ceeded with  the  demonstration.  He  went  through  with 
unerring  accuracy.  As  he  reached  the  Q.  E.  D.,  the 
professor  passed  on  to  the  next  in  order,  evidently 
charmed  with  the  new-comer.  All  his  recitations  were 
of  like  character.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  he  ranked 
among  the  best  members  of  the  class. 

His  college  life  was  a  model  of  propriety.  His 
father  had  charged  him  when  he  was  about  to  leave 
his  home  to  this  effect :  "My  son,  when  you  enter  col- 
lege I  want  you  to  remember  that  you  will  become  sub- 
ject to  its  laws.  I  want  you  to  be  a  law-abiding  student. 
You  know  that  I  have  allowed  you  and  your  brothers 
and  sisters  here  at  home  to  play  certain  games  of  cards  ; 
but  at  college  you  will  find  that  such  games  are  strictly 
prohibited  and  I  want  you  to  make  up  your  mind  to 
abstain  from  card-playing  while  you  are  in  college." 
This  timely  admonition  was  faithfully  observed  by  his 
son.  Not  only  so,  he  generalized  the  principle.  He 
was  able  to  see  that  the  principle  applied  with  equal 
force  to  all  the  rules  of  the  institution.  Hence  it  came 
to  pass  that  through  his  whole  course,  he  never  had  a 
demerit  mark  scored  against  him. 

When  the  class  had  passed  its  final  examination  in 
1829,  we  were  called  before  the  faculty  to  hear  of  the 
awards  which  they  had  made  of  the  commencement 
honors.  Our  venerable  president,  Doctor  Waddell, 
after  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  proceeded  to  read  the 
decisions  which  the  faculty  had  reached.  The  class 
numbered  twenty-one  young  men.  We  were  all  wait- 
ing with  intense  interest.  When  the  first  announce- 
ment was  made  saying.  "We  have  awarded  the  first 
honor  to  Nathaniel  Macon  Crawford,"  the  class  spon- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  143 

taneously  gave  a  hearty  and  cordial  applause.  There 
was  one  valedictorian  who  stood  among  his  classmates 
untouched  by  a  breath  of  envy. 

Young  Crawford's  first  step  in  life  was  to  prepare 
himself  for  the  legal  profession.  This  he  did,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  But  I  am  not  sure  that  he 
ever  entered  upon  the  practice  of  that  profession. 

Nearly  nine  years  after  we  had  graduated,  I  became 
the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Milledgeville.  And 
there  I  found  N.  M.  Crawford  acting  as  one  of  the 
clerks  in  the  executive  department,  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  Governor  Gilmer.  Our  acquaintance  was 
soon  renewed  and  we  enjoyed  for  two  years  many 
pleasant  interviews.  In  the  meantime  Oglethorpe 
University  was  established  in  the  village  of  Midway, 
only  two  miles  south  of  Milledgeville,  and  Mr.  Craw- 
ford was  elected  professor  of  mathematics  in  that  in- 
stitution. 

His  mother  was  a  Presbyterian  and  he  had  been 
raised  in  that  faith,  but  as  yet  he  had  manifested  no 
concern  about  his  own  salvation.  In  his  early  years 
he  would  often  use  profane  language  and  he  seemed  to 
be  wholly  indifferent  to  the  subject  of  religion.  But 
these  facts  serve  to  give  an  additional  interest  to  the 
story  of  his  conversion. 

There  was  a  protracted  meeting  going  on  in  Mil- 
ledgeville. One  evening  after  the  usual  service  an  in- 
vitation was  given  to  those  who  felt  willing  to  seek  the 
Lord  to  come  forward  to  the  front  seat.  While  the 
people  were  singing  I  was  standing  near  the  pulpit 
looking  over  the  large  audience.  I  saw  Professor 
Crawford,  my  friend  and  classmate,  sitting  far  down 


144  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  aisle.  My  heart  prompted  me  to  go  to  him.  When 
I  came  near,  I  took  his  hand  and  said:  "Macon,  will 
you  not  go  with  me  to  the  altar  and  let  us  pray  for 
you?"  Rising  promptly irom  his  seat  he  went  with  me 
to  the  front  and  there  we  kneeled  together  in  prayer. 
When  the  exercises  were  over,  I  learned  from  him  to 
my  surprise  and  yet  to  my  great  joy  that  very  recently 
he  had  obtained  a  hope  in  Jesus.  He  told  me  briefly 
some  of  his  experiences.  He  told  me  enough  to  give 
me  confidence  that  he  had  become  a  new  creature  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

Not  long  afterwards  he  and  I  were  again  together. 
During  our  walk,  I  said  to  him :  "Macon,  take  the  New 
Testament  and  read  it  through  and  when  you  come  to 
the  verse  that  clearly  teaches  infant  baptism,  turn 
down  the  leaf  and  when  you  see  me  again  show  me  the 
verse,  and  I  will  give  you  five  hundred  dollars."  He 
smiled  at  my  words  but  made  no  reply.  I  did  not  press 
him  further,  for  I  took  it  for  granted  that  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  join  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  this 
purpose  he  soon  accomplished. 

While  living  in  Midway,  he  found  a  Baptist  lady 
who  won  his  love  and  it  was  my  privilege  to  unite 
them  in  marriage.  A  few  years  later  he  resigned  his 
seat  in  Oglethorpe  University,  and  for  a  short  time 
took  his  family  to  the  old  homestead  at  Woodlawn, 
where  his  mother  was  then  residing.  It  was  at  Wood- 
lawn  that  he  became  a  Baptist.  He  and  his  wife  had 
lived  together  in  perfect  harmony  in  Christian  fellow- 
ship, though  of  dififerent  churches.  But  now  he 
found  himself  a  father  and  he  knew  that  the  rules  of 
his  church  required  him  to  have  his  children  baptized. 
But  he  knew  also  that  his  wife  was  opposed  to  it. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  145 

Here  was  a  dilemma.  To  settle  it  he  sought  for  guid- 
ance in  the  New  Testament.  His  conscientious  mind 
could  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  less  than  divine 
authority  for  his  decision.  It  may  be  he  remembered 
the  challenge  which  I  had  given  in  Milledgeville.  Like 
many  others  who  had  ventured  upon  the  same  line  of 
investigation,  he  failed  to  find  the  authority  which  he 
sought.  At  once  he  went  to  his  wife  and  to  her  sur- 
prise informed  her  that  he  had  concluded  to  join  the 
Baptist  church. 

Accordingly  he  was  soon  baptized  by  Rev.  B.  M. 
Sanders  into  the  Antioch  Church,  of  Oglethorpe 
County.  And  not  long  afterwards  he  was  ordained  to 
the  Baptist  ministry. 

Then  began  his  career  as  a  Georgia  Baptist.  His 
public  life  among  us  was  truly  brilliant,  but  it  was  so 
recent  and  is  so  well  remembered  by  thousands  of  liv- 
ing Baptists,  that  I  need  not  give  its  history  in  all  its 
details.  It  must  suffice  to  say  that  after  holding  a 
few  important  pastorates  first  in  Georgia  and  then  one 
in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  he  was  elected  to  the 
chair  of  theology  in  Mercer  University,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  in  that  institution  in  January,  1847.  ^^ 
was  here  he  did  his  most  valuable  w^ork.  It  was  here 
he  developed  his  full  character  as  a  scholar  of  profound 
and  extensive  learning,  as  a  Christian  of  deep  and  fer- 
vent piety,  and  as  a  man  of  spotless  integrity,  adorned 
with  the  most  charming  social  virtues  and  with  a 
charity  that  was  as  wide  as  the  world. 

It  was  at  Mercer  University  that  he  first  met  the 
question  concerning  Christian  paradoxes.  He  never 
lost  sight  of  the  subject  till  at  length  he  added  that 
most  valuable  book,  "Christian  Paradoxes,"  to  the  re- 


146  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

ligions  literature  of  the  present  century.    It  deserves  to 
be  in  every  religious  library. 

Doctor  Crawford  lived  only  threescore  years.  When 
he  reached  his  sixtieth  birthday  he  said  to  some  of  his 
friends  that  he  would  not,  if  he  could,  add  ten  years 
to  his  life,  preferring  rather  to  leave  himself  wholly  in 
the  hands  of  God.  He  could  speak  of  his  own  death 
with  perfect  cheerfulness,  for  the  everlasting  arms 
were  around  him.  His  death  was  sad  only  to  his 
weeping  friends ;  to  himself  it  was  rather  like  a  bridal 
dav. 


SECTION  TWO. 
THOMAS  STOCKS. 

Few  persons  now  living  can  form  a  just  concep- 
tion of  the  condition  of  things  that  existed  from  1782 
to  1786  or  1787,  in  the  counties  of  Georgia  that  lay 
between  the  Savannah  and  Oconee  rivers.  The  Oconee 
was  the  boundary  line  between  the  white  settlements 
and  the  Indian  territory  that  stretched  along  the  west 
bank  of  that  river. 

When  after  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  at 
Yorktown,  peace  was  made  with  England,  the  Indians 
still  continued  their  hostilities  along  the  frontiers  of 
Georgia  that  were  contiguous  to  them.  So  it  became 
necessary  to  protect  the  frontier  with  a  line  of  forts. 
One  at  least  of  these  forts  was  located  in  Greene 
County,  about  twelve  miles  east  of  Greensboro,  and  not 
far  from  where  Bethesda  Church  now  stands.  I  once 
had  the  pleasure  of  looking  upon  the  site  of  that  old 
fort. 

Now,  it  came  to  pass  in  1786  that  the  Indians  were 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  147 

evidently  preparing  to  make  another  raid  upon  Greene 
County.  The  women  and  children,  at  least  as  many  as 
could  be  gathered,  were  shut  up  in  the  fort  that  was 
nearest  to  them,  while  the  men  took  the  field  to  drive 
back  the  Indians.  While  these  defensive  measures 
were  going  on  in  the  field  it  happened  that  in  one  of 
the  forts  in  Greene  County  a  baby  was  born  on 
the  first  day  of  February,  1786.  That  baby  was  Thomas 
Stocks. 

At  ten  years  of  age  he  was  an  orphan  by  the  death 
of  both  his  parents.  From  that  time  he  was  reared  un- 
der the  care  of  an  uncle.  His  opportunities  for  educa- 
tion and  culture  were  very  poor,  but  somehow  he  grew 
up  to  manhood  in  favor  with  his  fellow  citizens.  His 
strong  common  sense  combined  with  his  integrity,  his 
truthfulness,  and  his  generous  good  nature  made  him 
exceedingly  popular. 

In  1813,  when  he  was  only  twenty-seven  years  old,, 
he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  from  his  native 
county.  He  sat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  eight 
consecutive  years  and  was  then  promoted  to  the  Sen- 
ate. His  position  in  the  Senate  he  held  for  twelve 
years,  eight  of  which  he  was  its  president.  In  the.- 
meantime,  he  served  his  own  county  as  one  of  the- 
judges  of  its  inferior  court  continuously  for  thirty 
years.  Few  public  men  can  be  found  who  have  en- 
joyed for  so  long  a  period  the  unwavering  confidence 
of  their  constituents  as  did  Hon.  Thomas  Stocks.  In»> 
deed,  it  is  probable  tl-kat  he  left  public  life  only  when 
advancing  years  made  it  advisable. 

But  there  was  opened  for  him  another  sphere  of" 
service  in  which  his  life  was  no  less  useful.  In  1828' 
he  was  baptized  by  Rev.  John  Lumpkin,  a  brother  of 


148  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Governor  Wilson  Lumpkin  and  Hon.  Joseph  H. 
Lumpkin,  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Georgia.  For  fifteen  years  Mr.  Stocks  had  been  con- 
stantly engaged  in  politics,  but  he  had  in  no  case 
stained  his  garments  with  a  political  act  for  which  he 
had  reason  to  be  ashamed.  Hence,  it  seemed  to  be  an 
easy  thing,  through  the  grace  of  God,  for  him  to  bring 
into  his  religious  life  the  noble  virtues  that  had  dis- 
tinguished him  as  a  citizen.  And  this  he  did  with 
earnest  fidelity  to  all  his  religious  duties.  Consequently 
he  soon  won  the  love  and  confidence  of  his  brethren. 
It  is  true  his  work  did  not  seem  to  include  preaching, 
or  even  exhortation  in  devotional  meetings,  but  his 
good  judgment,  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  busi- 
ness, his  willing  mind  and  great  faithfulness  made  him 
an  important  factor  in  all  the  affairs  of  his  own  church 
and  also  of  the  denomination  to  which  he  belonged. 
He  understood  the  various  enterprises  of  our  people, 
and  gave  to  them  a  most  loyal  and  liberal  support. 
In  addition  to  these  noble  qualities,  it  deserves  to  be 
mentioned  that  his  twenty  years  experience  in  the  Leg- 
islature, where  for  eight  years  he  was  the  president  of 
the  Senate,  had  made  him  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
parliamentary  law. 

In  consequence  of  these  endowments  his  services 
M^ere  in  constant  demand. 

In  1829.  only  one  year  after  his  baptism,  we  find 
his  name  first  on  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Con- 
vention at  Milledgeville  to  raise  the  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  that  were  necessary  to  secure  the  Penfield 
legacv.  The  story  of  this  legacy  was  told  in  one  of 
the  earlier  reminiscences,  so  it  is  not  necessary  to  re- 
peat it  here.     From  that  time  onward  for  more  than 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  149 

forty  years,  Brother  Stocks  was  a  member  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  of  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention. 
He  was  a  member  also  of  the  first  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  Mercer  University  and  for  many  years  was  its 
president  and  was  also  chairman  of  the  Prudential 
Committee,  and  in  1846  he  was  made  president  of 
the  Convention,  which  place  he  held  till  his  advanced 
age  made  it  advisable  to  relieve  him.  He  was  always 
equal  to  the  positions  in  which  his  brethren  placed 
him,  whether  on  a  finance  committee  or  in  the  presi- 
dent's chair.  He  never  shrank  from  any  business  serv- 
ice  required  of  him  and  always  did  it  well. 

Just  here  arises  a  question :  Why  is  it  that  so  many 
of  our  intelligent  and  able  men  take  so  little  interest  in 
the  work  of  the  church  and  of  the  denomination  to 
which  they  belong?  One  answer  to  this  question  is 
based  upon  the  claims  of  business.  This  excuse  may 
avail  for  employees  and  for  wage-laborers,  and  yet  our 
chronicles  reveal  many  cases  of  self-denial  among  these 
people.  Many  a  poor  seamstress  makes  out  to  attend 
the  prayer-meeting  and  the  service  on  Sunday,  and 
then  to  put  by  a  little  money  every  week  for  the  mis- 
sionary-box. But  at  any  rate,  the  plea  of  business  can 
not  avail  for  the  class  of  delinquents  referred  to  above. 
Against  such  a  plea  the  life  of  Brother  Stocks  was  a 
triumphant  protest.  He  too  was  a  man  of  business. 
He  was  the  proprietor  of  quite  a  large  estate.  He  was 
for  some  years  president  or  cashier  of  a  bank  in  Greens- 
boro and  for  many  years,  as  before  stated,  was  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  inferior  court  in  Greene  County. 
There  was  certainly  an  amount  of  business  which 
would  seem  sufficient  to  engage  one  man's  whole  time. 
And  yet  in  spite  of  his  business,  he  faithfully  met  every 


150  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

draft  that  his  brethren  made  upon  his  time  for  the  up- 
building of  our  beloved  Zion. 

While  serving  the  Convention,  in  his  own  church 
he  was  equally  efficient.  It  was  his  rule  to  attend  its 
services  and  his  brethren  confided  in  him  as  in  a 
father. 

Brother  Stocks  was  as  liberal  with  his  purse  as  he 
was  with  his  time.  It  is  said  that  he  gave  to  Mercer 
Institute  and  Mercer  University  an  aggregate  of  ten 
thousand  dollars.  During  the  same  period  he  was  of 
course  contributing  to  missions  and  to  other  benevo- 
lent enterprises. 

My  opportunity  to  know  Brother  Stocks  was  good. 
I  was  nine  years  with  him  on  the  Board  of  Trustees. 
For  twelve  years  that  I  resided  in  Penfield  he  was  a 
near  neighbor  and  I  often  met  him.  I  always  en- 
joyed his  company  and  I  was  glad  to  see  him  before 
me  when  I  was  in  the  pulpit,  and  this  was  often  my 
privilege. 

He  loved  his  brethren  and  they  loved  him.  His 
brethren  included  the  long  list  of  Baptist  fathers  whom 
I  have  been  trying  to  celebrate  in  these  reminiscences. 
He  was  often  called  and  perhaps  most  frequently  ad- 
dressed as  "Judge  Stocks,"  and  he  well  deserved  that 
honorable  title,  but  I  have  preferred  to  remember  him 
as  "Brother  Stocks." 

He  was  twice  married.  I  had  only  a  slight  ac- 
quaintance with  his  first  wife.  I  knew  his  second  much 
better.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Brother  and  Sister 
Davis.  They  were  a  venerable  couple  of  devout  Chris- 
tians who  had  been  for  years  members  of  the  same 
church  with  Brother  Stocks  and  had  been  coworkers 
with  him  in  promoting  its  interests.    So  it  was  a  grace- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  151 

ful  thing  for  Miss  Fannie  Davis  to  become  the  second 
wife  of  their  well-known  and  highly  valued  friend. 
And  faithfully  did  she  fulfill  to  him  the  duties  of  a 
wife,  till  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one  years  he 
was  taken  from  her.     y<i^y 

She  still  lives  (1897)  in  Greensboro  with  her  rela- 
tives— the  descendants  of  her  father  and  mother — and 
is  an  earnest  and  liberal  Christian.  Brother  Stocks  left 
no  children.  His  only  surviving  representative,  so  far 
as  I  know,  is  this  noble  lady  who  was  his  loving,  faith- 
ful wife.  Her  nephew,  Brother  C.  A.  Davis,  is  well 
known  in  Baptist  circles  and  is  illustrating  by  his 
beautiful  life  the  virtues  of  his  ancestors. 

I  can  not  close  this  brief  allusion  to  the  Davis  family 
without  mentioning  that  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Stocks  mar- 
ried Rev.  Mr.  Bowen  and  went  with  him  as  a  mission- 
ary to  Africa.  There  they  lived  and  labored  until  fail- 
ing health  compelled  Mr.  Bowen  to  abandon  his  field. 
They  returned  home,  but  he  did  not  live  very  long.  He 
died  a  martyr  to  his  love  of  souls.  His  widow  is  still, 
I  think,  one  of  the  family  group  in  Greensboro.  The 
Lord  bless  the  household. 


'  SECTION  THREE. 

ALFRED  SHORTER  AND   HIS   WIFE. 

Among  the  Baptists  of  Georgia  there  have  been  very 
many  worthy  church  mmbers  who  held  no  official  po- 
sition, but  who  for  their  work's  sake  deserve  to  be 
held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  their  brethren  of  the 
present  and  of  succeeding  generations.  Such  persons 
are  as  truly  object-lessons  as  are  the  more  conspicuous 


152  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

ones  who  have  filled  the  higher  places  in  our  denomi- 
nation. And  such  a  man  and  woman  most  certainly 
were  Colonel  Alfred  Shorter  and  his  wife. 

My  acquaintance  with  them  began  in  1836.  At  that 
time  they  were  living  in  Monticello,  Jasper  County.  A 
company  of  Baptist  preachers  from  the  ministers' 
meeting  at  Forsyth  were  returning  home  and  it  was 
arranged  to  stop  for  the  night  in  Monticello.  It  so 
happened  that  Doctor  Sherwood  and  several  other 
ministers,  myself  included,  were  the  guests  of  Brother 
and  Sister  Shorter.  This  was  the  first  time  I  ever 
met  them. 

A  few  years  later,  when  the  Cherokee  Indians  had 
been  removed  to  their  new  home  in  the  Indian  Ter- 
ritory, and  Northwest  Georgia  was  fairly  opened  to  the 
citizens  of  the  State,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Shorter  were 
among  its  earliest  settlers.  Their  first  stopping-place 
was  in  Cedar  Valley,  but  it  was  not  long  before  Colonel 
Shorter's  keen  perception  discovered  the  better  ad- 
vantages of  another  location.  He  sold  his  place  in 
Cedar  Valley  and  made  large  investments  in  land  about 
the  junction  of  the  Etowah  and  Oostanaula  rivers,  and 
along  the  banks  of  the  Coosa.  This  land  became  very 
valuable.  A  part  of  it  was  included  within  the  area 
upon  which  the  city  of  Rome  now  stands.  The  sale 
of  these  city  lots  no  doubt  helped  to  make  him  rich,  but 
his  fertile  and  well-cultivated  fields  must  have  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  same  result.  He  was  soon  man- 
aging a  very  large  and  complicated  business  that 
yielded  to  him  an  ample  revenue.  He  was  perhaps 
the  richest  man  in  Floyd  County. 

This  was  the  prosperous  condition  in  which  I  found 
Colonel  and  Mrs.  Shorter  eighteen  years  after  my  first 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  153 

acquaintance  with  them  in  Monticello.  In  1854  I 
visited  Rome,  by  special  invitation,  to  spend  a  Sabbath 
with  the  Baptist  church.  Part  of  the  time  I  was  the 
guest  of  these  good  people  at  their  elegant  home  near 
the  city.  My  wife  was  with  me.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  we  were  entertained  with  generous  hospitality. 
This  was  only  my  second  interview  with  them. 

Two  years  later  it  pleased  the  church  at  Rome  to 
call  me  to  be  their  pastor.  I  accepted  the  call  and  en- 
tered upon  my  duties  on  the  first  of  January,  1856. 
This  brought  me  into  close  relations  with  Brother  and 
Sister  Shorter,  which  were  continued  for  three  years 
and  eight  months.  I  had,  therefore,  the  best  opportu- 
nity of  knowing  them  both. 

I  have  said  that  he  was  a  rich  man.  But  of  what 
value  are  riches  in  the  hands  of  a  man  without  an  up- 
right character?  They  only  serve  to  make  his  faults 
more  conspicuous  and  his  vices  more  hideous.  The 
tinsel  of  wealth  and  the  glamour  of  ostentation  may 
draw  around  him  a  horde  of  sycophantic  flatterers,  or 
of  greedy  parasites  who  hope  to  fatten  on  his  excesses, 
but  he  finds  in  his  retinue  few  sincere,  unselfish  friends 
— the  wise  and  the  good  forsake  such  a  man. 

In  contrast  with  the  case  just  alluded  to,  it  is  re- 
freshing to  turn  to  a  character  like  Colonel  Shorter's. 
One  element  of  his  character  was  an  unobtrusive 
modesty.  He  seemed  to  have  not  the  slightest  desire 
to  be  a  leader.  This  might  be  thought  an  indication  of 
weakness,  for  it  often  happens  that  one  who  has  no  am- 
jbition  to  lead  is  at  the  beck  and  call  of  others— utterly 
devoid  of  all  personal  independence.  But  in  Brother 
Shorter's  case  a  suspicion  of  weakness  would  be  a 
great  mistake ;  for  his  modesty  was  ofifset  by  another 


154  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

trait  that  marked  him  as  a  man  of  inflexible  firm- 
ness. While  he  did  not  care  to  lead,  it  was  equally 
true  that  he  could  not  be  led.  I  never  knew  a  man  who 
was  more  completely  his  own  master  than  Alfred 
-Shorter. 

Another  element  of  his  character  is  found  in  the 
accuracy  of  his  judgment.  And  here  we  touch  what 
was  in  him  a  most  remarkable  endowment.  His  edu- 
'Cation  was  limited — he  knew  nothing  about  the  logic 
of  the  schools.  He  studiously  avoided  debate.  I  think 
3he  did  not  speak  five  words  in  any  of  our  church  con- 
ferences during  all  the  years  that  I  was  his  pastor,  and 
■yet  the  conclusions  which  he  would  reach  were  more 
generally  correct  than  those  of  any  other  member.  His 
judgments  were  like  intuitions.  The  proof  of  all  this 
is  found  in  the  confidence  that  the  people  who  knew 
him  had  in  his  judgment.  Without  trying  to  be  so, 
"he  was  almost  everybody's  adviser.  His  opinions  upon 
all  matters  of  business  were  almost  oracular  among  the 
people. 

Now,  when  to  these  qualities  of  modesty,  firmness, 
personal  independence  and  soundness  of  judgment  we 
add  his  faith  in  God,  his  sincere  feeling  of  moral  obli- 
gation and  his  sterling  integrity,  manifesting  itself  in 
his  love  of  truth  and  of  fair  and  just  dealings  towards 
all  men,  we  behold  his  character  clothed  with  that  no- 
"bilitv  which  commands  our  admiration.  But  this  is 
not  all. 

Colonel  Shorter  was  not  content  with  being  merely 
just.  Many  a  rich  man  can  boast  that  he  never  inten- 
tionally wronged  a  neighbor,  and  yet  he  may  be  domi- 
nated bv  a  cold,  unsympathizing  selfishness.  Not  so 
•with  Colonel  Shorter.     He  was  generous  as  well  as 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  155 

just.  He  was  the  poor  man's  friend,  and  many  now 
living  could  bear  witness  to  his  generous  kindness. 
But  his  beneficence  was  not  limited  to  private  chari- 
ties. He  gave  liberally  to  every  public  enterprise  that, 
in  his  judgment,  promised  to  be  for  the  glory  of  God 
:and  the  well-being  of  man.  When  his  brethren  in  1854 
^wanted  to  build  a  church  edifice,  which  was  very  much 
needed,  they  were  then  few  in  number  and  of  moderate 
means.  Nevertheless  they  built  an  eight-thousand-dol- 
lar house,  and  I  have  heard  that  Brother  Shorter  paid 
six  thousand  dollars,  equal  to  three-fourths  of  the  en- 
tire cost. 

But  the  crowning  work  of  his  benevolence  was  the 
founding  of  the  college  which  bears  his  name.  He  ex- 
pended upon  that  enterprise,  including  a  permanent 
■endowment  of  forty  thousand,  not  far  from  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

The  college  was  designed  for  the  advanced  educa- 
tion of  the  daughters  of  Georgia  and  its  adjacent 
States,  not  only  in  secular  learning,  but  also  in  moral 
and  religious  truth.  The  building  contains  not  only 
recitation  and  lecture  rooms,  where  may  be  heard  the 
deliverances  of  earthly  knowledge,  but  also  a  chapel 
where  may  be  heard  the  words  of  inspired  wisdom  that 
teach  the  way  which  leads  to  everlasting  life.  It  is  a 
monument  to  the  memory  of  its  founder  that  a  prince 
might  envy. 

What  more  need  be  said  of  Mrs.  Shorter  than  that 
she  was  the  true  counterpart  of  her  noble  husband. 
This  husband  and  wife  were  one.  So  at  least  it  seemed 
to  those  who  knew  them.  They  were  rich,  lived  bounti- 
fully and  dispensed  a  generous  hospitality,  but  they 
were  not  what  are  called  "society  people."  If  the  hus- 


156  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

band  was  the  poor  man's  friend  the  wife  was  an  angel 
of  mercy  to  all  who  were  suffering  or  in  sorrow.  She 
was  in  full  sympathy  with  all  her  husband's  schemes 
of  public  beneficence.  In  the  case  of  the  college,  this 
sympathy  with  him  was  gracefully  indicated  by 
Brother  Shorter  himself.  He  caused  to  be  put  up  in 
the  chapel  a  large  window,  beautifully  ornamented 
and  inscribed  in  brilliant  letters  with  her  name,  as  a 
personal  memorial  of  his  devoted  wife  who  had  passed 
away.  Indeed  it  would  seem  that  so  far  as  his  wishes 
were  concerned  he  would  have  preferred  that  the  insti- 
tution had  been  named  for  her  rather  than  himself. 

Let  not  the  example  of  these  two  good  people  be 
lost  on  those  who,  like  them,  are  blest  with  this  world's 
wealth. 


SECTION   FOUR. 
PATRICK   H.  MELL. 

Of  this  brother  I  took  occasion  to  speak  last  year  in 
a  review  of  a  memoir  of  his  prepared  by  his  son,  P.  H. 
Mell,  Jr.  In  that  memoir  we  find  a  full  account  of 
Doctor  Mell's  life  and  work  and  of  the  honors  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  his  brethren,  not  only  in  Georgia, 
but  throughout  our  Southern  Baptist  Zion.  This 
memoir  is  so  complete  and  its  publication  so  recent 
that  there  is  scarcely  room  left  for  anything  more  to 
be  said  about  him.  And  yet  my  long  acquaintance  with 
him  and  our  lifetime  friendship  makes  me  unwilling  to 
pass  him  by  without  giving  his  name  a  place  in  these 
reminiscences. 

I  first  saw  Doctor  Mell  in  Walthourville,  Liberty 
County,  Georgia,  in  the  summer  of  1832.     He  was  a 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  157 

student  in  the  academy  at  Walthovirville,  then  pre- 
sided over  by  Professor  Pincheon,  an  able  and  expe- 
rienced teacher.  The  time  for  the  annual  examination 
of  the  school  had  come.  The  principal  had  given 
notice  of  it  weeks  before  and  a  large  assembly  of 
gentlemen  and  ladies  were  on  hand  to  witness  the  ex- 
ercises. 

They  proved  to  be  exceedingly  interesting.  The 
range  of  studies  reached  from  the  primary  readers  up 
to  the  higher  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  not  omitting 
the  branches  of  English  learning  usually  taught  in  our 
best  high  schools.  The  pupils  included  at  that  time 
both  males  and  females,  representing  some  of  the  best 
families  of  Liberty  and  the  adjoining  counties.  A 
goodly  number  of  them  had  reached  the  age  of  young 
men  and  young  women.  Conspicuous  among  the 
young  men  was  Patrick  H.  Mell. 

The  principal  of  the  school  had  selected  a  few  gen- 
tlemen  from  the  audience  to  conduct  the  examination 
of  the  several  classes  as  they  were  called  out.  Now 
it  happened  that  young  Mell,  in  one  study,  had  no 
classmate.  When  he  was  called  to  the  front  he  stood 
alone  upon  the  floor,  erect  as  a  statue.  The  subject 
upon  which  he  was  to  be  examined  was  "Natural 
Theology,"  as  presented  by  Doctor  Paley.  This  was 
a  subject  quite  beyond  the  curriculum  of  an  ordinar^j 
academy  at  that  era. 

The  examination  was  committed  to  Rev.  Joseph 
Stiles,  D.D.,  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  who  was  one 
of  the  gentlemen  selected  to  be  examiners.  Dr.  Stiles 
being  a  full  graduate  of  a  theological  seminary,  was, 
of  course,  equal  to  the  demand  made  upon  him.  But  the 
young  student  proved  himself  to  be  prepared  for  the 


15^  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

ordeal  to  which  he  was  subjected.  He  did  not  hesitate 
for  a  moment  to  answer  the  questions  that  were  asked. 
The  questions  were  so  arranged  as  to  draw  out  very 
fully  the  author's  argument,  and  Mell's  statement  of  it 
was  clear  and  complete,  as  far  as  it  went.  It  seemed 
to  be  evident  that  if  time  had  allowed,  he  could  have 
gone  through  the  entire  argument  with  equal  accuracy. 
For  myself,  I  was  charmed  with  this  examination. 

I  have  made  this  incident  so  prominent,  not  only  be- 
cause I  think  it  is  interesting,  but  because  it  serves  to 
illustrate  as  well  as  to  account  for  an  important  ele- 
ment in  the  character  of  Doctor  Mell's  preaching.  He 
was  pre-eminently  distinguished  for  the  clear  logic 
that  always  pervaded  his  sermons.  When  he  mastered 
the  teleological  argument  of  Doctor  Paley  he  was  a 
very  young  man — hardly  more  than  eighteen  years  of 
age.  Nor  was  he  a  Christian.  The  time  for  his  con- 
version had  not  come.  He  could  therefore  feel  no 
spiritual  interest  in  an  argument  for  the  existence  of 
God.  He  could  look  at  it  only  as  a  matter  of  reason. 
Hence  in  mastering  that  argument  he  was,  without 
perhaps  being  aware  of  it,  exercising  his  own  mind  in 
processes  of  logical  reasoning.  Take  notice,  this  mode 
of  studying  began  in  his  early  youth.  It  continued 
with  him  as  he  progressed  in  his  education,  till  it  be- 
came habitual  and  thus  gave  shape  and  character  to  his 
discourses  through  all  his  subsequent  life.  This  logical 
element  in  his  preaching  was  noticed  and  admitted  by 
all  his  intelligent  hearers. 

It  was  probably  seven  or  eight  years  before  I  again 
met  Mr.  Mell.  In  the  meantime  he  had  become  an 
advanced  scholar,  especially  in  classical  learning,  and 
had  also  become  a  Christian  and  a  Baptist.     Early  in 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  159 

the  forties  he  was  elected  professor  of  languages  in 
Mercer  University.  It  was  at  Penfield  that  I  became 
associated  with  him  most  intimately  for  nearly  ten 
years.  For  eight  years  we  were  both  members  of  the 
faculty.  It  would  be  easy  to  fill  several  pages'  with  in- 
cidents illustrating  his  usefulness  and  his  efficiency  as 
a  college  officer,  but  I  need  not  relate  them  here.  I 
would  rather  give  to  my  readers  my  impressions  of  his 
religious  life. 

On  one  occasion  he  told  me  a  bit  of  his  Christian 
experience.  It  was  to  this  effect:  Being  deeply  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  his  condition,  he  was  anxious 
to  find  some  way  out  of  his  trouble.  He  was  search- 
ing the  Scriptures  for  light  and  found  these  words,  "If 
thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  shalt  believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved,  for  with  the  heart  man 
believeth  unto  righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  con- 
fession is  made  unto  salvation."  (Romans  x.  9,  10.) 
He  said  to  himself.  How  can  a  man  believe  in  his 
heart?  Belief  is  an  act  of  the  intellect,  not  of  the 
heart;  hence  he  must  believe  with  the  head  and  not 
with  the  heart. 

Such  thoughts  as  these  troubled  this  young  seeker 
verv  deeply.  He  groped  in  darkness  for  some  days, 
but  grace  at  length  enabled  him  to  discover  that  his 
faith  in  Jesus  was  indeed  associated  with  the  exercise 
of  right  affections  towards  God.  Of  these  affections 
he  became  conscious,  and  they  are  supposed,  by  com- 
mon consent,  to  have  their  place  in  the  heart.  So  then 
the  meaning  of  Paul's  words  may  be  thus  expressed: 
A  man's  faith  is  effective  for  salvation  only  when  it  is 
responded  to  by  the  affections  of  the  heart  leading  him 


i6o  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

to  love,  to  reverence,  to  worship  and  obey  God  as  his 
Creator  and  his  great  Redeemer.  Therefore,  the  exer- 
cise of  these  affections  tow^ards  God  is  beheving  in  him 
with  the  heart. 

In  giving  the  foregoing  account  of  one  point  in 
Doctor  Mell's  experience  I  do  not  profess  to  report  his 
words.  Indeed  my  account  is  rather  an  interpretation 
of  the  case  than  a  report  of  the  terms  in  which  it  was 
stated. 

It  is  the  moral  in  the  story  that  gives  to  it  its  chief 
importance.  Many  thousands  of  people  to-day  think 
they  are  believing  in  Christ,  but  their  affections  are 
absorbed  in  the  perishable  objects  of  the  present  world. 
Is  this  believing  with  the  heart?  And  if  not,  can  it 
be  unto  salvation? 

James  says :  "Faith  without  works  is  dead" ;  but  who 
can  work  when  not  moved  to  it  by  some  corresponding 
affection?  Is  it  not  therefore  equally  true  that  faith 
without  right  affections  is  dead? 

All  who  were  accustomed  to  hear  Brother  Mell 
preach  will  bear  witness  that  he  often  emphasized  the 
necessity  of  believing  with  the  heart. 

Though  I  was  several  years  his  senior,  yet  he  has 
gone  before  me  to  the  heavenly  mansions.  Neverthe- 
less I  can  in  fancy  look  beyond  the  stream  of  yonder 
shining  shore  and  see  many  loved  ones  who,  I  humbly 
hope,  are  waiting  for  my  coming;  and  among  them 
how  gladly  will  I  greet  all  with  whom  I  have  lived  in 
Christian  fellowship  and  whose  pious  labors  for  the 
Master  I  have  shared. 


CHAPTER  X. 


SECTION  ONE. 
THOMAS    BACON,    SK.    AND    HENRY    HOLCOMB. 

I  BECAME  acquainted  with  Thomas  Bacon's  house- 
hold while  I  was  attending  the  examination  of  the 
Academy  at  Wakhourville,  of  which  I  have  spoken. 
During  my  stay  in  the  village  I  was  a  guest  of  the 
family. 

Mr.  Bacon's  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry 
Holcomb,  D.D.,  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  Baptist 
preachers  of  Georgia.  His  name  appears  frequently 
and  prominently  in  the  earliest  records  of  our  denomi- 
nation. We  find  that  he  was  fourteen  years  old  when 
independence  was  declared  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress in  1776.  Though  so  young,  he  did  not  wait  long 
before  he  entered  the  army,  where  his  courage  and 
good  sense  soon  raised  him  to  command.  In  this,  his 
first  public  service,  he  discharged  his  duty  with  that 
fidelity  which  distinguished  his  after-life. 

In  1785,  when  about  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he 
was  ordained  to  the  ministry  as  a  Baptist  preacher. 
In  1786  he  married  and  soon  afterwards  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  baptizing,  at  one  time,  his  wife,  his  mother- 
in-law,  and  his  wife's  brother,  along  with  twenty-three 
other  candidates.  And  not  very  long  afterwards  he 
baptized  his  own  father.  This  is  a  remarkable  record 
for  one  so  young  in  the  ministry. 

161 


i62  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

As  to  his  education  he  was,  emphatically,  a  self- 
made  man ;  he  became  by  private  study  a  good  scholar 
and  distinguished  theologian. 

It  was  he  who  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  organiz- 
ing the  First  Baptist  church  in  Savannah,  and  was  for 
several  years  its  pastor.  During  that  period  he  was 
identified  with  Georgia  Baptists  in  all  their  enterprises, 
if  not  indeed  their  most  efficient  leader.  It  was  some- 
where in  the  first  decade  of  this  century  that  his 
daughter,  Miss  Sarah  Holcomb,  beame  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Bacon,  of  Liberty  County,  Georgia. 

When  I  met  this  happy  couple  in  1832,  I  found 
them  surrounded  with  eight  children,  seven  sons  and 
one  daughter.  They  constituted  a  most  interesting 
family.  The  father  and  mother  were  devotedly  pious, 
and  were  trying  to  bring  up  their  children  "in  the  nur- 
ture and  admonition  of  the  Lord."  Their  success  in 
this  loving  effort  was  wonderful.  To  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  and  belief  every  child  became  in  early 
youth  a  member  of  a  Baptist  church.  All  have  now 
passed  away  except  two. 


SECTION  TWO. 
THE  SONS  OF  THOMAS  BACON. 

Major  Edwin  Bacon. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1832  that  a  wedding  party 
assembled  in  the  quiet  village  of  Sunbury  to  celebrate 
the  marriage  of  Mr,  Edwin  Bacon  to  Miss  Louisa 
Stevens.  The  groom  was  the  son  of  Brother  Thomas 
Bacon,  Sr.,  and  the  bride  was  the  daughter  of 
Brother  Oliver  Stevens,  Sr.     The  company  was  com- 


Reiiiinisccnces  of  Georgia  Baptists:  165 

posed  of  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  young  couple. 
It  was  my  privilege  to  be  present  on  this  occasion  as  an; 
attendant  of  the  bridegroom  and  to  witness  the  beau^ 
tiful  ceremony  performed  by  our  pastor,  Rev.  Josiah  S^ 
Law. 

Mr,  Bacon,  with  his  bride,  settled  at  Walthourville 
and  there  he  lived  for  several  years.  He  was,  if  I  re- 
member rightly,  by  profession  a  lawyer  and  was  much, 
engaged  in  secular  business.  He  soon  became  an  im- 
portant man  in  his  county,  and  while  yet  in  his  early 
manhood  he  was  elected  by  his  fellow  citizens  to  repre- 
sent them  in  the  Legislature.  Though  thus  encum- 
bered with  secular  business,  he  continued  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church  and  to  give  to  it  his  sympathy  and  his 
support.  With  the  details  of  his  middle  life  I  am  not 
familiar,  for  after  1832  we  seldom  met.  Thirty-one 
years  passed  away.  In  the  meantime  sons  and  daugh- 
ters were  born  to  him.  Some  had  grown  up  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood.  , 

In  1864  I  was  called  to  be  pastor  of  a  rural  church  at 
Gum  Pond,  in  Mitchell  County.  I  accepted  the  call" 
and  moved  my  household  to  a  small  farm  very  near 
the  church-house.  There  I  found  Major  Bacon  and' 
his  two  brothers,  Henry  and  Robert  J.,  living  in  the 
neighborhood.  The  Major's  place  touched^  my  own,, 
and  our  residences  were  less  than  a  mile  apart.  My 
acquaintance  with  himself  and  wife  and  her  venerable 
mother  was  quickly  renewed  and  I  soon-  learned  to 
know  his  sons  and  daughters.  Several  of  them  were- 
already  members  of  the  church  and  during  my  sojoum- 
at  Gum  Pond  it  was  my  privilege  to  baptize  two  others, 
a  son  and  a  daughter. 

Major  Bacon  was  noted  for  his  manly  bearing,  his 


164  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

refined  manners,  his  generous  nature,  and  his  liberal 
hospitaHty.  He  was  also  a  loving  husband  and  a  most 
affectionate  father,  while  his  noble  wife,  with  her 
earnest  piety,  her  graceful  manners  and  her  loving 
heart,  fulfilled  the  duties  of  a  devoted  mother.  From 
such  parental  influences  we  would  naturally  expect 
the  best  results.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  their 
children  grew  up  refined  and  cultured.  And  so  it 
turned  out  their  sons  were  gentlemen  and  their  daugh- 
ters were  ladies  and,  better  still,  nearly  all  of  them 
professed  to  be  Christians. 

Of  Major  Bacon's  daughters,  Caroline  (the  eldest  of 
those  whom  I  knew)  married  the  late  Rev.  E.  W. 
Warren  and  is  now  living  in  Macon.  Another,  Louisa, 
married  a  prominent  physician,  Dr.  W.  H.  Strother, 
of  Albany.  The  youngest  daughter,  Nela,  married  Dr. 
Osborne,  of  Columbus,  and  lives  in  that  city.  There 
was  one  daughter  whom  I  did  not  know.  She  had 
married  a  gentleman  of  Savannah  and  there  died, 
hence  I  did  not  find  her  with  the  family  at  Gum  Pond. 

Major  Bacon's  oldest  son,  Oliver,  has  passed  away. 
Doctor  Edwin  H.  Bacon,  his  second  son,  was  a  gallant 
officer  in  the  army.  He  did  good  service,  and  I  am 
told  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  Benton,  near 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  is  now  living  at  Eastman, 
where  he  is  a  prominent  and  efficient  member  of  the 
Baptist  church. 

The  next  son,  DeWitt  Clinton,  was  also  in  the  army 
connected,  I  learn,  with  the  signal  corps.  Since  the 
"war  he  has  been  engaged  in  an  extensive  lumber  busi- 
ness and  I  believe  divides  his  time  between  Atlanta 
and  Savannah. 

The  fourth  son,  Albert,  followed  his  brothers  to  the 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  165 

tented  field  and  served  his  country  as  a  soldier.  After 
his  return  from  the  war  he  united  with  the  Baptist 
church.  But  I  do  not  know  his  present  residence  or 
his  occupation. 

The  fifth  son,  Wallace,  was  too  young  to  be  a  sol- 
dier. He  was  my  pupil  at  Gum  Pond.  I  found  him  to 
be  a  noble,  high-spirited,  generous  young  man.  He  is 
now  a  prominent  physician  in  Albany  and,  I  am  told, 
an  active  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

The  father  of  this  interesting  family,  Major  Edwin 
H.  Bacon,  survived  the  war  but  a  few  years.  I  have  no 
information  of  his  last  days,  but  we  may  hope  that 
when  the  crisis  came,  he  felt  himself  sustained  by  faith 
in  our  great  Redeemer. 

Augustus  O.  Bacon. 

This  good  brother  was  the  second  son  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Bacon,  whose  wife  it  will  be  remembered  was 
a  daughter  of  Henry  Holcomb. 

Mr.  A.  O.  Bacon  was  a  well-grown  youth  and  a 
well-advanced  student  in  the  academy  at  Walthour- 
ville,  in  1832,  where  he  was  preparing  himself  for  the 
State  University.  In  the  examination  already  referred 
to  he  bore  an  honorable  part.  I  remember  especially 
his  success  in  declamation.  He  had  selected  for  the 
occasion  Daniel  Webster's  celebrated  speech  before  the 
court  at  the  trial  of  the  Knapps  for  murder.  That 
dreadful  tragedy  had  occurred  only  a  few  years  before, 
and  the  trial  of  the  murderers  became  a  matter  of  in- 
terest throughout  the  Union.  Mr.  Webster  was  em- 
ployed to  aid  the  prosecution.  The  wonderful  speech 
which  he  delivered  had  not  grown  old  in  1832.  The 
tragedy,  the  trial,  and  the  speech  were  still  fresh  in  the 


i66  Rcuiinisccnces  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

minds  of  all  reading  people.  This  was  the  speech  that 
young  Bacon  delivered,  with  grace  and  effect,  to  an 
appreciative  audience. 

Like  many  of  our  leading  Georgia  Baptists,  A.  O. 
Bacon  was  converted  in  his  early  boyhood.  I  think  he 
was  only  thirteen  when  he  joined  the  church  and  he 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  brethren  as  long  as  he 
lived.  Oh,  how  blessed  is  a  life  of  early  and  consistent 
piety ! 

He  entered  the  Sophomore  class  in  the  University  at 
Athens,  in  January,  1834.  He  lodged  in  the  college 
building,  but  took  his  meals  at  my  grandmother's 
house,  with  whom  I  was  at  that  time  living.  Hence  I 
had  daily  association  for  several  years  with  this  dear 
young  brother.  His  college  life  was  worthy  of  his 
Christian  profession.  He  stood  among  the  first  in 
scholarship  and  did  not  hide  his  religion.  He  was  a 
regular  attendant  upon  the  services  of  the  Baptist 
church  in  Athens,  and  won  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
him.  I  was  a  few  years  his  senior  and  was  already  be- 
ginning to  preach,  and  sometimes  Brother  Bacon  would 
accompany  me,  when  my  appointments  were  in  the 
country,  and  his  presence  was  a  great  gratification  to 
me  on  such  occasions.  It  is  not  strange  that  an  in- 
timacy so  close  and  constant  should  have  established 
between  us  the  strongest  friendship. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  Brother  Bacon  dur- 
ing his  course  in  college  enables  me  to  indorse  all  that 
Doctor  Campbell  says  of  him  in  the  biographical  sketch 
which  we  find  in  "Georgia  Baptists,  Historical  and 
Biographical." 

He  did  not  remain  at  college  quite  long  enough  to 
graduate.    "Business  of  a  pressing  nature"  constrained 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  167 

him  to  leave  about  two  months  before  commencement. 
But  the  following  extract  from  a  letter,  written  to  him 
by  Doctor  Church,  the  president  of  the  University,  at 
the  time  that  he  left  college,  is  equal  to  any  diploma. 
The  letter,  judging  from  the  extract,  seems  to  repre- 
sent the  feelings  of  the  whole  faculty.  Doctor  Church 
says :  "We  all  regretted  your  leaving  before  commence- 
ment, knowing  that,  for  your  scholarship,  you  would 
have  been  entitled  to  one  of  the  first  honors,  and  that 
the  commencement  exercises  would  have  been  most 
creditably  sustained,  so  far  as  you  were  concerned,  had 
you  taken  part  in  them."  These  words  need  no  com- 
ment. They  place  a  chaplet  of  honor  upon  the  brow 
of  a  young  Baptist  who  was  hastening  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  service  of  the  Master  in  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel. 

In  the  autumn  of  1836,  Brother  Bacon  married  Miss 
Louisa  Jones,  a  pious  and  lovely  young  lady  of  Liberty 
County.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  licensed  to  preach 
and  then  spent  two  sessions  at  the  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina.  There 
as  in  Athens  he  won  the  respect  and  love  of  his  instruc- 
tors. 

Returning  to  his  native  county,  he  was  ordained  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry  in  January,  1839,  and  became 
copastor  with  Rev.  J.  S.  Law,  of  North  Newport 
Church. 

Such  was  the  bright  and  pleasant  scene  of  usefulness 
that  began  to  open  before  our  dear  young  brother. 
But  alas !  it  was  only  a  few  short  months  before  the 
curtain  dropped.  In  July  of  that  same  year  a  sudden 
attack  of  sickness  closed  his  eyes  in  death.  But  he 
was  able  to  meet  the  unexpected  blow  with  undimmed 


1 68  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

faith.  His  last  words  were,  "There  is  none  Hke  Jesus." 
He  left  his  young  wife  and  an  infant  son  to  weep 
over  his  untimely  death.  Nor  were  these  the  only 
mourners.  A  large  circle  of  fond  relatives  and  the  peo- 
ple whom  he  had  begun  to  serve  mingled  their  tears 
with  those  of  the  weeping  wife  and  the  little  boy. 
Four  months  after  his  father's  death  another  son  was 
born,  but  before  he  was  a  year  old  he  had  lost  both 
mother  and  elder  brother.  That  little  orphan  boy, 
named  after  his  father,  Augustus  O.  Bacon,  is  now 
Georgia's  representative  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  May  that  son  ever  live  to  emulate  the  vir- 
tues and  to  follow  the  faith  of  his  noble  father! 

Milton  E.  Bacon. 

The  third  son  of  Brother  Thomas  Bacon  and  his 
wife  was  Milton  E.  Bacon.  He,  too,  professed  re- 
ligion when  young.  He,  too,  was  educated  at  Athens 
and  while  in  college  boarded  at  our  house.  Hence  I 
came  to  know  him  almost  as  intimately  as  I  had  known 
his  older  brother.  And  as  long  as  he  lived  our  relations 
to  each  other  were  most  fraternal  and  kind. 

It  was  as  a  teacher  that  he  distinguished  himself 
among  Georgia  Baptists.  Soon  after  he  graduated  he 
married  a  lady  of  Liberty  County,  and  not  long  af- 
terwards opened  a  female  school  in  Clinton,  Jones 
County.  Here  he  achieved  good  success  for  a  few 
years,  and  then  moved  to  LaGrange.  I  can  not  give 
the  exact  dates  of  these  changes,  but  he  must  have 
gone  to  LaGrange  about  1845.  There  he  founded  the 
Southern  Baptist  Female  College.  It  soon  became  a 
most  flourishing  and  effective  institution  of  learning. 
There  are  hundreds  of  ladies  now  living  in  Georgia 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  169 

and  adjacent  States  who  are  indebted  to  that  school 
for  their  education  and  their  culture.  And  it  continued 
for  a  number  of  years  to  dispense  its  benefactions. 

Not  long  after  the  war,  Brother  Bacon  removed  to 
Mississippi,  where  he  continued  his  labors  as  a  teacher 
till  his  death.  With  the  incidents  of  his  life  after  he 
left  Georgia  I  am  not  acquainted,  but  no  doubt  he 
continued  to  be  an  earnest  Baptist  and  a  successful 
teacher.  He  left  one  daughter  in  Georgia,  now  the 
wife  of  President  C.  C.  Cox,  of  College  Park,  near  At- 
lanta. 

The  fourth  son  in  this  interesting  group  was  Sum- 
ner Winn  Bacon.  I  saw  him  only  once,  when  he  was  a 
boy.  He  died  very  young,  while  a  student  in  college. 
The  next  was 

Thomas  J.  Bacon. 

He  was  the  fifth  son  of  his  father.  Of  his  early 
years  I  knew  nothing.  I  found  him,  however,  in  1853, 
living  in  LaGrange,  engaged,  I  think,  in  the  practice  of 
law,  and  a  prominent  and  useful  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church.  He  was  then  a  married  man  with  several 
little  children  around  him.  He  had  married  Miss 
Meriwether,  a  niece  of  my  sister-in-law,  the  wife  of 
the  late  Judge  Junius  Hillyer. 

When  the  war  came.  Brother  T.  J.  Bacon  raised  a 
company  and  went  into  the  army  as  its  captain,  but 
he  was  soon  placed  on  the  staff  of  General  Anderson, 
who  commanded  the  brigade.  At  the  battle  of  Seven 
Pines,  during  a  gallant  charge  made  by  his  brigade. 
Captain  Bacon  received  a  fatal  shot  that  stretched  him 
on  the  field.  He  died  in  two  hours.  His  remains  were 
sent  home  to  be  buried  in  his  native  State.  His  widow 
has  since  followed  him  to  the  better  world.    Two  sons 


17°  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

and  one  daughter  still  survive  him,  all  of  whom.  I 
liope,  are  trying-  in  their  several  positions  to  be  good 
Christians  and  good  citizens. 

Henry  H.  Bacon. 

This  dear  brother  was  about  as  lovely  a  character  as 
I  ever  knew  and  very  few  have  filled  more  completelv 
than  he  the  full  measure  of  their  obligations  to  God 
and  to  their  fellow  men.  He  was  my  near  neighbor  at 
Gum  Pond  for  three  years.  He  was  deacon  in  the 
church,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school,  and  our 
leader  of  music  in  public  worship.  And  yet,  though 
■so  prominent,  he  was  a  model  of  gentleness  in  his  do- 
mestic and  social  life.  Everybody  loved  him.  His 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  John  E.  Dawson.  Both 
are  sleeping  together  now  in  the  cemetery  close  by  the 
church-house  they  loved  so  well.  Only  two  of  their 
children  survive  them. 

'Of  the  family  of  Thomas  Bacon,  Sr.,  only  one  son, 
Col.  R.  J.  Bacon,  is  still  living.  He  is  the  youngest  of 
the  seven.  Like  his  elder  brothers,  he  joined  the 
church  in  his  early  years.  He  is  now  living,  with  his 
noble  wife,  the  granddaughter  of  Dr.  John  L.  Dagg, 
near  the  Gum  Pond  Church,  of  which  they  are  promi- 
nent and  efficient  members. 

The  eighth  child  of  the  Bacon  family  was  a  daugh- 
ter. I  did  not  know  her,  but  I  learn  that  she  married 
a  Mr.  Foster  and  is  still  living  in  Alabama.  I  trust 
that  she  is  a  Christian,  and  may  God  grant  that  she 
and  her  surviving  brother,  with  his  pious  wife,  may 
continue  for  many  years  to  add  to  their  present  record 
other  works  of  piety  for  His  glory  and  for  the  good 
of  all  mankind.  And  I  also  pray  that  all  the  descend- 
ants of  Henry  Holcomb  and  of  Thomas  Bacon  may 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  sainted  ancestors. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Old-Time  Churches. 


SECTION  ONE. 

THEIR     FAITH     AND    PRACTICE THEIR     HOUSES    OF 

WORSHIP. 

In  these  reminiscences  I  have  thus  far  confined  my- 
self chiefly  to  the  consideration  of  individual  charac- 
ters. I  have  hoped  that  the  piety,  zeal  and  devoted 
labors  of  those  worthy  men  and  women  who  did  so 
much  for  the  building  up  of  our  denomination  might 
prove  to  be  interesting  and  instructive  object-lessons 
for  the  present  generation  of  Georgia  Baptists.  There 
are,  indeed,  many  others  that  well  deserve  to  be  re- 
membered and  I  may  yet  find  an  opportunity  to  write 
of  at  least  some  of  them.  I  shall  now  devote  a  few 
chapters  to  the  consideration  of  Georgia  Baptist 
churches  as  they  appeared  during  the  early  decades  of 
the  present  century. 

They  were  built  upon  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone. 
Hence  they  contended  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  de- 
livered to  the  saints  and  firmly  held  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  be  their  only  authoritative  creed  and  their  only 
binding  rule  of  practice.  Accordingly,  they  would  not 
admit  any  one  to  baptism  and  to  church  membership 
till  he  was  able  to  give  for  himself  credible  evidence  of 
regeneration  in  the  experience  of  sincere   repentance 

171 


172  Rcminiscoiccs  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

towards  God  and  in  the  exercise  of  genuine  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  The  logical  result  of  these  views  com- 
pelled them  to  repudiate  the  baptism  of  infants,  and 
also  to  adhere  to  immersion  as  the  New  Testament 
form,  and,  therefore,  the  only  valid  form  of  adminis- 
tering the  ordinance. 

The  old-time  Baptist  meeting-house  was  a  simple 
structure.  As  has  been  stated,  our  Baptist  people  gen- 
erally, seventy  and  eighty  years  ago,  lived  in  the  coun- 
try, and  there  they  built  their  meeting-houses.  They 
were  built  sometimes  of  logs,  but  the  average  meeting- 
house was  a  framed  building,  varying  in  size  to  suit 
the  supposed  wants  of  the  neighborhood.  It  was 
often  unceiled  on  the  inside  and  sometimes  its  win- 
dows were  left  without  glazed  sashes.  And  in  many 
cases  no  provision  was  made  for  warming  the  house. 
Now  it  is  simply  wonderful  how  preachers  or  people 
could  keep  up  their  meetings  under  such  conditions  in 
cold  weather.  Think  of  a  preacher  riding  in  his  buggy 
ten  miles  on  Sunday  morning  to  meet  a  candidate  for 
baptism  (received  the  day  before  at  conference),  and 
after  baptism  having  to  dress  himself  in  the  woods 
and  then  leap  in  his  buggy  and  drive  four  miles  to  the 
meeting-house  and  conduct  the  morning  service  as 
usual,  and  then,  after  the  benediction,  to  step  into  his 
buggy  again  and  drive  twelve  miles,  without  seeing 
fire,  till  he  reached  his  own  home,  while  all  day  the 
mercury  was  near  the  freezing-point.  Of  this  case  I 
had  personal  knowledge.  Was  it  a  hard  case?  No 
doubt  the  administrator  and  the  spectators  felt  the  cold 
severely.  And  the  subject,  who  was  a  humble  col- 
ored woman,  no  doubt  felt  it  more  than  all.     But  I 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  173 

venture  to  say  that  neither  the  pastor  nor  the  subject 
regarded  the  physical  inconvenience  (I  need  not  call 
it  suffering)  as  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  trans- 
cendent privilege  that  each  enjoyed. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  readily  admitted  that  the  stove  or 
furnace,  with  a  baptistry  flanked  by  two  comfortable 
dressing-rooms,  is  a  wonderful  advance  upon  the  sim- 
ple arrangements  of  the  old-time  meeting-house,  while 
the  joy  of  obedience  has  suffered,  from  the  change,  no 
diminution  whatever. 

But  the  old-time  meeting-house  still  holds  its  place 
in  many  sections  of  our  beloved  Georgia.  No  matter, 
Jesus  is  in  it.  When  a  company  of  baptized  believers 
are  there,  either  for  business  or  for  worship,  the  di- 
vine Master  is  with  them.  So  it  was  in  the  long  ago. 
Let  us  then  look  for  a  little  while  at  a  Baptist  church 
assembled  for  business,  in  the  twenties. 


SECTION   TWO. 
THEIR  CONFERENCES. 

Regarded  in  its  visible  aspects,  a  church  conference 
was  about  as  unattractive  a  gathering  as  could  be 
found.  Its  place  of  meeting  was,  in  all  probability, 
that  old-time  meeting-house  with  its  uncouth  and 
rough  equipments.  Its  members  were  men  and  women 
who  had  left  their  farms,  their  shops  and  their  house- 
hold cares  that  they  might  fill  their  places  in  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Church.  They  usually  met  on  Saturday 
which  preceded  the  Sunday  that  was  set  apart  for  the 
public  worship  of  the  Church,  and  for  the  preaching  of 


174  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  gospel  to  the  congregation  which  might  assemble 
with  them  on  that  day. 

The  conference  on  Saturday  was  usually  preceded 
by  a  sermon,  accompanied  with  prayer  and  hymns  of 
praise.  Then  generally  after  a  short  recess,  the  Church 
met  in  conference.  It  was  emphatically  an  independ- 
ent body.  It  acknowledged,  outside  of  itself,  no 
power  on  earth  that  had  a  right  to  control  its  action. 
Clothed  with  such  complete  self-government,  the 
question  may  well  be  asked :  What  was  the  business  or 
work  that  engaged  their  attention?  This  question,  if 
answered  in  all  its  fulness,  would  fill  several  pages ; 
but  it  may  be  answered  comprehensively  in  a  few 
words,  thus :  The  business  of  a  church  conference  is 
to  promote  the  kingdom  of  God  among  men  at  home 
and  abroad.  Did  the  early  churches  of  Georgia  so 
understand  their  duty?  Only  to  a  very  limited  degree. 
They  were  on  the  right  line  of  duty,  but  only  at  the 
beginning  of  it. 

That  beginning  was  first  to  watch  over  one  another 
in  love,  to  maintain  a  wholesome  discipline  among 
themselves,  and  to  provide  a  preached  gospel  as  often 
as  they  could  for  themselves  and  for  the  community 
around  them.  These  things  they  understood.  I  have 
stated  them  almost  in  the  words  of  their  church  cove- 
nants. And  when  they  were  trying  to  perform  these 
duties,  they  were  really  aiming,  perhaps,  wdthout  be- 
ing aware  of  it,  to  promote  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
themselves  and  among  their  neighbors. 

Now,  taking  these  principles  with  us,  let  us  search 
the  minutes  of  our  old-time  churches.  I  am  sure  it 
will  appear  from  those  minutes  that  those  old  churches 
did,   with   great  fidelity,   watch   over   the  morals   and 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  175 

the  religion  of  their  members,  and  they  did  it  in  love. 
The  evidence  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that  their 
minutes  are  often  studded  with  cases  of  discipline. 
This  fact  I  know  may  show  that  the  offenders  were 
many,  but  it  also  proves  that  the  majority  of  the 
church,  in  each  case,  was  faithful  and  true  to  put  away 
evil  from  among  them.  And  yet  they  did  it  in  love, 
for  how  glad  were  they  to  receive  back  to  their  fellow- 
ship a  penitent  offender  as  soon  as  he  approached 
them  with  a  proper  confession. 

In  the  light  of  what  has  been  said  I  think  we  may 
conclude  that  the  chief  work  of  those  old  conferences 
was  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of  morals  and  of  piety 
among  their  members. 


SECTION  THREE. 
THEIR  DISCIPLINE. 

It  was  a  rule  with  many  churches  fifty  and  eighty 
years  ago  to  have  the  roll  called  at  each  conference, 
and  absentees  were  marked,  and  at  the  next  conference 
those  who  were  absent  at  the  previous  meeting  were 
expected  to  explain  their  absence.  This  was  not  an 
"iron  rule."  It  did  not  apply  to  the  female  members 
at  all,  and  the  male  members  were  not  called  on  for 
their  excuses  by  name  unless  they  had  been  absent 
three  times  in  succession.  In  that  case,  when  one  had 
failed  to  attend  the  meetings,  the  clerk  was  required  to 
report  him  if  he  did  not  report  himself,  and  then  he 
was  called  on  to  explain  his  absences.  jSTor  was  the 
Church  severe  as  to  the  character  of  the  excuse  re- 
quired. He  was  allowed  to  plead  any  reasonable  in- 
convenience. 


176  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Though  the  enforcement  of  the  rule  was  very  len- 
ient, yet  its  effect  was  decidedly  wholesome.  It  kept 
before  the  minds  of  all  the  precept  of  the  Apostle, 
''Forsake  not  the  assembling  of  yourselves  together;" 
and  it  was  easy  for  them  to  see  that  the  precept  in- 
cluded attendance,  not  only  on  the  conferences,  but 
upon  all  the  appointments  of  the  church — its  prayer- 
meetings  and  its  Sunday  services.  The  existence  of 
such  a  rule  is  a  constant  appeal  to  the  consciences  of 
church  members  to  fulfill  the  covenant  they  have  made 
with  their  brethren. 

I  doubt  not  that  there  are  many  Baptist  churches  in 
Georgia  to-day  which  have  this  rule,  and  I  am  just  so 
certain  that  when  it  is  efficiently  observed  it  will  lead 
on  to  other  good  works  and  to  greater  prosperity. 

I  have  said  that  the  rule  should  be  enforced  leniently, 
but  there  comes  a  time  when  forbearance  ceases  to  be 
a  kindness.  When  one  neglects  his  church  meetings 
persistently  and  continuously,  he  becomes  justly  a  sub- 
ject of  dealing.  The  pastor  and  other  brethren  should 
labor  with  him.  Peradventure,  they  may  save  their 
brother.  But  if  he  should  prove  incorrigible,  then 
he  should  be  excluded. 

Another  phase  of  discipline  found  in  the  early 
churches  was  manifested  in  their  dealings  with  the 
grosser  vices.  I  need  not,  however,  enlarge  upon  this 
topic,  for  I  think  it  is  well  understood  that  the  churches 
in  those  days  would  not  tolerate  any  gross  immoralities. 
It  did  not  matter  who  was  the  offender.  So  far  as 
their  discipline  was  concerned  there  was  no  respect  of 
persons.  The  offender  might  be  their  pastor,  or  the 
richest   man   in   the   church ;   but   if   he   was   proved 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  177 

guilty  of  immorality,  his  high  position  could  not  pro- 
tect him. 

There  was  still  another  exercise  of  discipline  among 
the  old-time  Baptist  churches  in  Georgia  that  deserves 
a  passing  notice.  It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for 
them,  in  conference,  to  settle  disputes  between  breth- 
ren. In  such  cases  the  church  did  not  act  precipitately. 
They  would  wait  till  the  aggrieved  party  had  sought 
redress  in  the  way  prescribed  by  our  Savior  in  the 
eighteenth  chapter  of  Matthew.  Then  if  he  had  failed 
to  obtain  what  he  believed  to  be  his  rights,  it  was  his 
privilege  to  bring  the  case  before  the  church.  True, 
such  cases  were  sometimes  mere  quarrels  growing  out 
of  bad  tempers  and  unkind  words. 

I  witnessed,  nearly  sixty  years  ago,  just  such  a 
case.  It  was  a  quarrel  between  two  prominent  sisters. 
The  feeling  on  both  sides  became  intense,  till  at  length 
the  husband  of  the  aggrieved  lady  brought  the  case 
before  the  church.  He  preferred  no  charges  against 
the  offending  sister,  but  only  asked  for  letters  of  dis- 
mission for  himself  and  wife.  For  a  moment  there 
was  silence  in  the  house.  Then  the  offending  sister 
rose  to  her  feet  and  said  substantially :  "Brother  Mod- 
erator, I  can't  consent  for  two  such  people  as  Brother 

and  Sister to  leave  this  church  on  my  account. 

I  believe  them  to  be  Christian  people."  What  else  she 
might  have  said  along  the  line  of  tenderness  and  con- 
ciliation, I  do  not  know^  for  just  then  the  pastor  inter- 
rupted her  and  said:  "Sister,  are  you  willing  now  to 
come  forward  and  offer  them  your  hand  of  Christian 
fellowship?"  Instantly  the  good  lady  started  down  the 
aisle  that  she  might  reach  the  other  parties,  who  were 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  house.    They  saw  her  com- 


178  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

mg,  and  promptly  moved  forward  to  meet  her  and  to 
grasp  cordially  her  offered  hand,  and  there  the  three 
stood  weeping  together,  while  many  in  the  audience 
were  also  bathed  in  tears.  When  they  returned  to 
their  seats  the  brother  gladly  withdrew  his  request  for 
letters.  Thus  passed  away  this  threatening  cloud,  while 
the  beams  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  adorned  its  re- 
treating form  with  the  beautiful  bow  of  peace  and 
reconciliation. 

Sometimes  the  disputes  among  brethren  involved 
the  payment  of  debts  and  the  fulfillment  of  contracts. 
How  many  of  the  present  generation  are  aware  that 
the  conference  of  a  Baptist  church  would  sometimes 
become,  practically,  a  court  of  justice?  And  yet  a  case 
of  that  kind  occurred  in  1828  in  one  of  the  counties  of 
Middle  Georgia. 

There  were,  indeed,  some  churches  who  would  not 
allow  their  members  to  go  to  law  with  one  another  be- 
fore the  State  courts.  They  held  this  position  under 
Paul's  teachings  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians, 
with  which  we  are  all  familiar. 

There  was  one  other  matter  that  in  former  years 
furnished  occasion  for  discipline  to  our  Baptist 
churches.  I  allude  to  the  complicated  subject  of  social 
indulgences  and  amusements.  There  is  no  doubt  about 
it,  the  New  Testament  warns  the  people  of  God 
against  the  love  of  the  ivorld.  And  it  is  also  true  that 
one  mode  of  gratifying  this  love  is  found  in  the  pleas- 
ures and  indulgences  of  social  life. 

Our  honest  forefathers,  impressed  with  these  facts,, 
made  an  earnest  effort  to  protect  church  members  from 
the  contaminations  of  the  world.  To  this  end  they 
placed   some  worldly  amusements  under  the  ban  of 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  B a [^ fists.  179 

stern  disapprobation,  and  made  them  subjects  of  dis- 
cipline. In  making  these  discriminations  they  made, 
we  must  admit,  some  grave  mistakes.  But  I  think  it 
will  be  found  that  their  mistakes  were  in  allowing 
some  things  which  they  ought  to  have  forbidden  rather 
than  in  those  things  which  they  condemned.  For  in- 
stance, they  condemned  social  dancing  and  card-play- 
ing, because  they  judged  these  amusements  to  be  hurt- 
ful to  spiritual  growth  and  dangerously  alluring  to 
other  and  grosser  vices.  In  this  judgment  they  were 
certainly  right.  But  they  allowed  social  drinking  with- 
out a  word  of  censure.  In  this,  they  were  inconsistent. 
But  it  should  be  observed  that  they  were  not  know- 
ingly inconsistent.  I  can  distinctly  remember  when  a 
moderate  "dram"  (so  called)  was  deemed  as  harmless 
as  the  same  amount  of  milk.  Not  only  so,  it  was 
considered,  in  hundreds  of  cases,  to  be  actually  helpful 
and  sustaining  to  the  physical  system.  Hence  the  most 
prudent  farmers  of  the  country  would  often  furnish  it 
to  their  hands,  especially  when  their  work  happened  to 
be  more  than  usually  heavy.  Religious  people  did  the 
same  thing.  Even  preachers,  after  a  long  sermon, 
would  often  relieve  their  fatigue  with  a  dram. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  it  is  not  surprising  that 
our  fathers,  seventy  years  ago,  should  overlook  the 
evils  of  moderate  drinking.  But  remember  that  they 
did  not  tolerate  drunkenness.  Their  church  minutes 
show  manv  cases  of  discipline,  which  evince  their 
watchfulness  over  the  morals  of  their  brethren. 

There  are  other  social  evils  that  our  fathers  failed 
to  condemn  in  any  very  strong  terms.  These  are  thea- 
ters, operas  and  circuses.    In  their  days  they  were  very 


i8o  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

rare  in  Georgia.  Their  true  character  and  hurtful  in- 
fluence were  not  understood.  I  do  not  know  that  the 
old  minutes  contain  any  cases  at  all  growing  out  of 
these  amusements.  But  the  evils  of  dancing  and  card- 
playing  were  well  known.  They  saw  in  them  "a.  love 
of  the  world"  that  was  intense — so  intense  as  to  crush 
all  the  elements  of  true  piety  in  those  who  habitually 
indulged  in  them.  Hence  it  is  not  strange  that  our 
fathers  gave  them  no  quarter. 

Their  opposition,  in  some  cases,  was  so  strong  that 
they  transferred  to  the  fiddle  the  abhorrence  which 
they  felt  for  the  dance.  I  knew  a  good  pastor — a  man 
eminent  for  his  piety  and  learning — who  was  very 
fond  of  the  fiddle.  He  owned  one  and  often  played  it. 
He  was  serving  a  church  in  the  country,  of  which  he 
was  not  a  member,  and  somehow  his  brethren  heard  of 
his  fiddle.  They  couldn't  stand  it.  At  conference  one 
of  the  brethren  told  the  pastor  what  they  had  heard 
and  asked  if  he  really  played  the  fiddle.  He  frankly 
confessed  that  he  did,  and  in  a  very  affectionate  way 
tried  to  convince  them  that  he  did  it  innocently.  But 
the  brethren  were  not  satisfied.  After  a  full  debate  he 
at  last  said  to  them,  "Well,  brethren,  I  see  my  playing 
the  fiddle  hurts  your  feelings.  This  I  am  not  willing  to 
do.  I  will  therefore  agree  that  I  will  not  play  another 
tune  on  the  fiddle  as  long  as  I  am  your  pastor."  This 
was  enough.  The  brethren  accepted  his  promise  as  all 
that  they  had  a  right  to  ask.  The  moral  of  this  story 
is  plain.  When  you  know  that  an  indulgence  which 
you  think  innocent  hurts  the  feelings  of  your  brethren, 
it  is  generous  and  lovely  to  deny  yourself  rather  thart 
wound  them. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  i8i 

SECTION  FOUR. 
THEIR  RECEPTION  OF  MEMBERS. 

The  New  Testament  idea  of  a  church  is  that  it 
should  be  an  assembly  of  converted  and  baptized  mem- 
bers who  have  Christian  fellowship  with  each  other. 
This  beautiful  ideal  Baptists  have  always  and  every- 
where desired  to  realize,  and  to  this  end  have  adopted 
such  methods  of  receiving  new  members  as  they  hoped 
would  most  successfully  secure  its  realization.  The 
New  Testament  prescribes  no  particular  method  of 
testing  the  sincerity  of  one  who  professes  to  have  exer- 
cised "repentance  toward  God  and  faith  toward  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  But  it  would  be  a  grave  mistake 
to  suppose  that  the  Apostles  and  the  primitive  churches 
took  no  pains  to  guard  against  the  admission  of  unfit 
members.  True,  in  that  early  period,  it  may  not  have 
been  needful  to  adopt  such  stringent  methods  to  protect 
the  purity  of  the  churches  as  have  become  necessary  in 
these  modern  times.  The  "offense  of  the  cross"  was  so 
intense  and  wide-spread  that  very  few,  save  those  who 
were  truly  "born  of  God,"  were  willing  to  endure  its 
shame.  Hence,  those  who  became  willing  to  confess 
Christ  in  baptism  by  that  very  consent  gave  a  signal 
proof  of  their  sincerity.  And  with  this  proof  the 
apostolic  churches  may  have  been  and,  no  doubt,  in 
many  cases  were  content. 

But  times  have  changed.  The  "oft'ense  of  the  cross" 
has  well-nigh  ceased.  It  is  no  longer  a  disgrace  and  a 
shame  to  become  a  Christian.  Becoming  a  Christian 
now  no  longer  exposes  one  to  the  loss  of  his  citizenship 
or  his  social  position,  and  much  less  does  it  expose  him 
to  the  fagot  and  the  stake.     Nay,  it  has  come  to  pass 


i82  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

that  the  way  into  the  church  is  easy,  and  often  inviting, 
for  it  sometimes  leads  to  respectabihty.  Indeed,  in 
some  sections  of  the  so-called  church  there  lies  a  way 
that  leads  to  honor  and  to  great  emolument. 

Under  such  conditions  as  are  above  set  forth  a  peo- 
ple who  insist  upon  a  converted  church  membership 
must  faithfully  watch  against  intruders.  If  it  be  need- 
ful to  watch  over  one  another  in  love  that  we  may  main- 
tain a  "wholesome  discipline,"  much  more  is  it  needful 
that  we  should  begin  that  watchfulness  at  the  very 
door  of  the  church. 

Accordingly  it  has  been  the  custom  with  our  Bap- 
tist churches  in  America  and  throughout  the  world  to 
require  every  candidate  for  church  membership  to  give 
a  relation  of  his  Christian  experience  in  order  that  the 
brethren  may  know  whether  it  affords  a  credible  and 
reasonable  evidence  of  a  genuine  conversion.  This  re- 
lation always,  save  in  a  few  exceptional  cases,  pre- 
cedes baptism,  for  the  simple  reason  that  a  genuine 
conversion  is  as  essential  to  the  validity  of  a  baptism 
as  it  is  for  admission  into  the  church. 

The  rule,  as  above  explained,  was  rigidly  observed 
by  Georgia  Baptists  from  their  very  beginning  in  the 
State.  Where  a  church  met  in  conference,  it  was  usual 
to  spend  a  little  while  in  devotional  exercises,  except 
when  a  sermon  with  its  usual  services  of  prayer  and 
praise  had  preceded  the  church  meeting.  The  next 
thing  in  order  was  to  "open  the  door  of  the  church." 
This  was  done  by  the  pastor.  With  kind  and  gentle 
words  he  invited  any  one  present  who  might  feel  a  de- 
sire to  unite  himself  with  the  people  of  God  to  come 
forward  to  the  front  seat  during  the  singing  of  a  hymn 
selected  by  the  pastor.    Here  was  an  interesting  crisis. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  183 

The  pastor  might  have  in  his  mind's  eye  some  dear 
youth  who  be  beheved  ought  to  come  forward,  but 
whose  timidity  might  restrain  him.  To  suit  such  a 
case,  he  would  select  a  hymn  like  this : 

"In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways. 
My  journey  I'll  pursue; 
Hinder  me  not,  ye  much-loved  saints, 
For  I  must  go  with  you." 

As  the  voices  sing  these  sweet  words  of  holy  pur- 
pose and  high  resolve,  that  timid  believer  catches  the 
inspiration  and,  just  as  the  song  ceases,  walks  to  the 
front  and  takes  the  seat  assigned  him.  He  comes  to 
ask  for  a  place  among  the  people  of  God.  He  tells 
them  how  he  had  felt  himself  to  be  a  sinner,  and  how 
he  had  vainly  tried  to  attain  unto  righteousness  by  re- 
forming his  life,  till  he  should  build  up  for  himself  a 
character  exempt  from  all  sin.  And  then  he  tells 
them  of  his  deep  distress  when  he  found  his  own  right- 
eousness only  a  "filthy  rag,"  and  how  he  then  cried 
unto  the  Lord  for  mercy,  till  at  length  he  was  able  to 
believe  in  Jesus  as  his  Savior,  and  being  thus  justified 
by  faith  found  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  was  able  to  rejoice  in  hope  of  his  glory. 

The  account  just  given  of  the  experience  which  a 
candidate  for  admission  to  a  Baptist  church  was  ex- 
pected to  give  is  only  an  outline,  with  all  details  omit- 
ted, but  I  think  it  covers  every  essential  point. 

When  the  candidate  had  finished  his  story,  it  was 
then  in  order  for  some  brother  to  move  that  he  should 
be  admitted  both  to  baptism  and  to  the  church.  (Ad- 
mission to  both,  though  not  always  expressed,  was  al- 
ways implied.)     If  the  motion  prevailed,  then  followed 


184  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

a  song  and  the  giving  to  the  new  brother  the  right  hand 
of  Christian  fellowship. 

Now,  I  know  very  well  that  the  facts  above  set  forth 
are  perfectly  familiar  to  many  thousands  of  the  present 
generation,  for  the  mode  of  receiving  members  which 
I  have  described  still  lingers  in  many  sections  of  our 
State.  Forty  years  ago  it  was  perhaps  universal.  But 
before  leaving  the  subject,  I  wish  to  notice  what  seems 
to  me  to  be  some  of  the  advantages  of  the  old-time 
method  of  receiving  members  into  the  church. 

First  of  all  the  relation  of  one's  experience  before 
the  church  is  in  many  cases  a  cross.  It  is  perhaps  the 
first  cross  that  a  young  convert  finds  in  his  path.  To 
be  able  to  take  it  up  and  joyfully  to  bear  it  affords  him 
the  opportunity  to  win  the  first  victory  in  his  religious 
life,  and  thus  to  strengthen  himself  for  still  greater 
struggles  that  are  sure  to  follow.  Jesus  said :  "If  any 
man  will  be  my  disciple,  let  him  deny  himself  and 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me."  Self-denial  and 
cross-bearing  often  involve  each  other  and  both  are 
demanded  when  we  propose  to  follow  Christ. 

Another  advantage  of  this  mode  of  receiving  mem- 
bers is  the  fact  that  it  promotes  the  fellowship  of  the 
churches.  This  is  no  small  matter.  It  is  well  known 
that  a  common  experience  is  one  of  the  strongest  ties 
that  unite  the  people  of  God  together.  It  endures 
through  ages.  The  Christian  of  to-day,  as  he  reads 
the  experimental  Psalms  of  David  finds  his  own  heart 
echoing  the  thoughts  of  those  ancient  songs.  If  these 
things  are  true,  then  a  knowledge  of  one  another's  ex- 
perience must  promote  our  mutual  fellowship. 

A    third    advantage    deserves    to  be  noticed.     The 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  185 

young  convert,  when  he  tells  to  the  whole  Church  the 
story  of  his  conversion,  begins  to  be  a  witness  for 
Christ — he  is  another  example  of  the  saving  power  of 
the  gospel.  And  many  a  time  a  thoughtless  listener  in 
the  house  may  hear  a  word  from  a  young  convert  that 
may  send  him  home  to  repent  and  weep.  Indeed,  the 
very  scene  may  produce  a  good  efifect.  There  was 
once  a  gay  young  lady  with  no  thought  of  piety,  as  far 
as  I  know,  who  accompanied  her  pious  mother  to  her 
church.  It  was  conference  day.  When  the  door  of 
the  Church  was  opened  only  one  came  forward,  and  he 
was  a  middle-aged  negro.  The  young  lady  said  to  her- 
self: "Surely  the  Church  is  not  going  to  receive  such 
a  creature  as  that,  he  can  not  tell  an  experience."  Per- 
haps she  scarcely  deigned  to  listen  to  the  poor  darkey's 
words,  preferring  probably  to  indulge  in  her  own 
thoughts.  But  presently,  very  much  to  her  surprise, 
the  members  rose  to  their  feet  and,  with  a  sweet  song 
of  welcome,  began  to  give  the  humble  candidate  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship.  He  had  told  an  experience 
that  was  responded  to  by  every  pious  heart  in  that 
house. 

The  lady  saw  that  humble  slave  receiving  from  those 
who  were  high  above  him  in  social  life  a  boon  which 
she,  at  that  time,  dared  not  ask.  The  inciden-t  made 
a  lasting  impression  upon  her  mind,  and  it  was  not 
very  long  before  she  told  her  experience  in  that  same 
country  church  and  received  from  those  same  brethren 
and  sisters  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.  And  her  af- 
ter life  well  illustrated  the  genuineness  of  her  conver- 
sion. 

That  lady  was  my  own  beloved  mother.    She  told  me 


i86  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  above  story  when  I  was  well  advanced  towards 
young  manhood,  which  shows  that  the  incident  had 
deeply  impressed  her. 

May  this  method  of  receiving  members  be  perpetual 
among  our  Georgia  Baptists. 


SECTION  FIVE. 
THEIR  BAPTISMS. 

Baptists  hold  that  the  first  duty  of  a  new  convert  is 
publicly  to  confess  his  repentance  towards  God  and 
his  faith  in  Christ  by  being  baptized  according  to  the 
Savior's  commandment,  and  then  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church.  When,  therefore,  he  relates  to  the 
church  his  experience  and  they  vote  to  receive  him, 
that  vote  does  not  take  effect  to  make  him  a  member 
till  after  he  has  been  baptized.  As  soon,  therefore,  as 
the  church  votes  to  receive  him,  the  next  thing  to  do  is 
to  arrange  for  his  baptism,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
qualified  to  become  a  member  of  a  church  of  baptized 
believers.  All  these  points  our  Baptist  fathers  well 
understood,  and  practiced  accordingly. 

It  was  their  custom  to  meet  with  the  candidates  for 
baptism  at  a  convenient  hour,  under  the  blue  sky,  and 
beside  some  suitable  body  of  water.  Large  congrega- 
tions were  generally  on  hand  to  witness  the  baptisms. 
There  was  something  that  made  those  baptisms  ex- 
ceedingly attractive.  Else  why  should  so  many  come 
together  to  witness  them?  Mere  curiosity  might  have 
influenced  some  of  the  young  and  giddy,  but  it  can  not 
explain  the  continued  attendance  of  the  matured  and 
old  men  and  women  who  were  wont  to  assemble    on 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  187 

such  occasions.  Curiosity  is  easily  satisfied,  and  when 
satisfied  ceases  to  act  as  a  motive.  No  mere  curiosity 
will  not  explain  the  phenomenon.  May  not  the  true 
explanation  be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  baptism,  rightly 
performed,  is  a  thing  of  divine  origin?  God  is  in  it. 
It  is  the  eflfective  influence  of  his  unseen  presence  that 
gives  to  it  its  attractiveness  and  its  power. 

Take  these  ideas  away  from  the  ordinance  and  how 
silly  would  a  baptism  appear !  Think  of  that  man  who, 
nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  came  out  of  the  wil- 
derness, with  his  uncouth  apparel  and  his  unkempt 
locks.  Was  he  not  a  fit  subject  of  derision  and  ridi- 
cule ?  But,  mark,  he  is  not  ridiculed.  He  utters  strange 
words.  He  proclaims  a  startling  fact — that  "the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  at  hand"  and,  as  a  preparation  for  it, 
exhorts  the  people  to  repent  and  be  baptized.  We 
learn  from  his  own  lips  that  it  was  God  who  com- 
manded him  to  baptize.  Great  multitudes  attended  his 
ministry,  and  many  were  baptized  by  him  in  the  Jor- 
dan, confessing  their  sins.  It  was  his  privilege  also  to 
baptize  our  Savior  and  to  proclaim  him  to  the  people  as 
the  "Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world." 

Such  was  the  origin  of  baptism.  And  just  such 
scenes  as  were  enacted  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan  have 
been  repeated  through  all  the  centuries  down  to  thxi 
present  time.  The  rivers  of  Georgia  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  have  often  been  signalized  by  Christian 
baptism,  attended  with  thronging  congregations. 
When  Jesus  gave  the  great  commission  to  his  disciples, 
he  promised  to  be  with  them  to  the  end  of  time.  Ac- 
cording to  this  promise,  Christ  is  with  his  servant  in 


i88 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 


baptism,  and  it  is  his  unseen  but  effective  presence  that 
draws  the  people  to  the  baptismal  waters. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Baptism  has  a  more  important 
significance.  Jesus  himself  used  it  to  represent  his 
awful  sufferings  in  the  work  of  redemption.  He  said 
to  James  and  John,  "Are  ye  able  to  be  baptized  with 
the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with  ?"  Here  he  speaks 
metaphorically.  What  does  he  mean  ?  He  must  have 
meant  that  there  was  some  great  ordeal  before  him 
whose  fearful  nature  he  expressed  by  calling  it  a  bap- 
tism. He  did  the  same  thing  on  another  occasion. 
He  said  to  his  disciples :  "1  have  a  baptisn^  to  be  bap- 
tized with,  and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  ac- 
complished?" In  both  these  cases  he  had  reference  to 
that  great  sorrow  which  ended  in  his  burial  and  his 
resurrection,  of  which  his  baptism  was  a  prophetic 
symbol.  It  foreshadowed  his  own  death  and  resurrec- 
tion. 

But  the  significance  of  baptism  reaches  yet  farther. 
After  the  day  of  Pentecost,  while  it  still  represented^ 
retrospectively,  the  Savior's  burial  and  his  resurrection^ 
and  is  now  the  memorial  symbol  of  both,  Paul  turns  it 
to  the  believer,  and  makes  it  represent  to  him  his  burial 
with  Christ  unto  sin  and  his  resurrection  with 
Christ  to  a  new  and  a  better  life,  and  finally  his  resur- 
rection with  Christ  from  the  grave  to  the  glories  of  the 
new  heavens  and  the  new  earth. 

The  foregoing  thoughts  are  not  original.  How 
could  they  be,  while  every  baptism  of  a  true  believer 
has  been,  through  the  centuries,  an  object-lesson  de- 
signed especially  to  teach  them  ?  Yet  still  they  deserve 
to  be  often  repeated,  for  they  made  baptism,  when 
rightlv   administered,   a   witness   for   Christ  and   our 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  1S9 

holy  religion,  wherever  it  may  be  exhibited.  I  knew 
a  learned  infidel  once  who  frankly  confessed  that  there 
were  two  facts  in  support  of  Christianity  which  he 
could  not  set  aside.  These  were  the  memorial  supper 
and  baptism. 

The  administration  of  the  ordinance  of  baptism 
was  as  simple  among  our  Baptist  fathers  as  it 
well  could  be.  When  the  church  and  candidates  were 
assembled  at  the  water's  side,  the  pastor  would  open  the 
services  by  calling  for  a  suitable  hymn.  It  was  sung 
with  feeling  and  pathos.  Then  followed  a  short  ad- 
dress, sometimes  to  the  candidates,  explaining  to  them 
the  need  of  consecrating  themselves  to  the  service  of 
Christ,  or,  perhaps,  expounding  the  significance  of  bap- 
tism. Sometimes  he  would  exhort  the  church  to  watch 
over  the  young  lambs  that  were  coming  into  their 
fold.  Or  he  might  make  a  loving  appeal  to  the  uncon- 
verted, persuading  them  to  come  to  Jesus.  Then  one 
by  one,  and  sometimes  two  by  two,  he  would  gently 
lead  them  to  their  watery  grave  and  bury  them  with 
Christ  in  baptism. 

The  effect  of  such  baptisms  we  shall  never  know 
till  we  get  to  heaven.  I  will  tell  you,  however,  a  few 
things  that  I  have  seen  and  heard.  I  have  seen  a 
mother  overcome  with  holy  joy  because  her  daughter 
was  one  of  several  others  who  were  about  to  put  on 
Christ  in  baptism.  The  emotion  overflowed  and  she 
praised  God  aloud  for  his  goodness  to  her  beloved 
child. 

Again,  I  have  seen  a  man,  who  was  a  sinner,  weep 
before  a  large  congregation  when  he  led  his  wife 
whom  he  loved  to  the  water's  edge  and  gave  her  to  the 
minister  to  be  baptized.     Then,  at  another  time,  there 


190  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

was  a  gay  young  man  at  a  baptism.  He  had,  while 
the  people  were  gathering,  not  a  serious  thought  about 
him.  The  services  were  conducted  as  usual,  with  no 
extra  occurrences.  But  that  young  man  confessed  to 
a  friend  that  the  service  from  its  very  beginning  to  its 
close  had  affected  him  with  unexpected  and  deep 
solemnity.  What  became  of  him  afterwards  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  incident  is  significant.  Here  I  must 
stop.  It  is  enough  for  me  to  say  that  the  memory  of 
my  baptism  affords  me  some  of  the  sweetest  remin- 
iscences of  my  life.  And  no  doubt  the  same  was  true 
with  the  thousands  of  Baptist  preachers  who  lived  and 
died  in  Georgia  during  the  last  eighty  years. 

I  tell  you,  brethren,  there  has  been  an  unseen  power 
in  our  baptisms.  And  is  it  to  be  wondered  at?  Did 
not  Jesus  say  to  his  disciples :  "Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world?"  And  it  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  he  gave  this  promise  in  connec- 
tion with  the  formula  of  baptism. 

Now,  what  I  have  said  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs 
is  not  new  to  Georgia  Baptists  of  to-day.  Thank  God, 
we  still  have  the  baptism  of  our  fathers.  But  do  we 
appreciate  it  as  we  ought  ?  Are  our  pastors  sufficiently 
careful  so  to  minister  it  as  not  to  abate  its  solemnity, 
nor  to  hinder  its  effect? 

If  the  lives  and  conduct  of  Baptists  were  truly  as 
scriptural  as  is  their  baptism,  they  would  be  an  irresist- 
ible power  in  promoting  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  May 
the  Lord  make  our  lives  as  pure  as  our  creed — the 
Word  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
Old-Time  Churches    (continued), 


SECTION  ONE. 
A  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY. 

Our  Baptist  fathers  believed  in  a  call  to  the  ministry 
with  full  assurance  of  faith.  It  was  a  settled  item  of 
their  creed  that  no  man  should  take  this  office  unto 
himself  unless  he  was  "called  of  God  as  Aaron  was" 
(Heb.  V.  4).  As  long  ago  as  I  can  remember,  these 
words  were  sure  to  be  quoted  when  any  attempt  was 
made  to  explain  the  way  into  the  Christian  ministry. 
Those  good  brethren  did  not  perceive  that  the  writer 
to  the  Hebrews,  when  he  used  those  words,  was  not 
speaking  of  the  Christian  ministry  at  all,  but  only  of 
the  Jewish  priesthood.  Failing  to  notice  this  fact,  they 
applied  the  words  to  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  made, 
therefore,  a  divine  call  an  essential  condition  for  ad- 
mission to  the  ministry  and,  accordingly,  it  became  an 
established  rule  among  them  to  admit  no  one  to  ordi- 
nation who  could  not  give  satisfactory  evidence  of  hav- 
ing received  such  a  call. 

This  rule  has  been  perpetuated  in  our  churches  to 
the  present  day.  It  is  true  there  are  other  qualifica- 
tions besides  a  divine  call  that  are  deemed  essential  for 
ordination,  but  a  divine  call  has  been  as  much  insisted 
upon  as  any  other  and  especially  by  our  Baptist  fathers 
in  Georgia.     Were  they  right? 

191 


192  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

They  who  ignore  the  direct  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  reHgious  Hfe  of  a  Christian  will,  of  course, 
regret  the  rule  and  will  contend  that  the  fathers  were 
wrong  in  adopting  it.  But  those  who  believe  in  such 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  need  not  find  any  difficulty 
in  answering  the  above  question  emphatically  in  the 
affirmative.  Admit  that  our  fathers  supported  the  rule 
by  one  text,  which,  as  has  been  already  shown,  was 
not  relevant,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  were  wrong; 
because  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  given  in  the 
New  Testament,  would  justify  us,  a  priori,  in  expect- 
ing that  he  would  exercise  his  agency  in  calling  and 
qualifying  men  for  so  important  a  service  as  the 
preaching  of  the  "glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God." 
How  can  we  suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  should  exercise  his  agency  in  "helping  the  in- 
firmities" of  the  humblest  saint  and  in  "teaching  him 
how  to  pray  as  he  ought,"  and  in  "making  interces- 
sions for  him  with  groanings  that  can  not  be  uttered," 
and  yet  be  indifferent  to  the  selection  of  those  who 
are  to  go  forth  to  contend  for  the  truth  against  all  the 
powers  of  darkness?  Such  a  thought  is  simply  pre- 
posterous. This  a  priori  argument  might  well  be 
deemed  sufficient,  even  if  it  stood  alone.  But  it  is 
triumphantly  sustained  by  Paul's  testimony. 

His  testimony  is  found  in  Rom.  xii.  3-8;  I  Cor.  xii. 
4-1 1 ;  Eph.  iv.  8-1 1.  I  can  not  conveniently  quote  these 
passages.  H  the  reader,  however,  will  turn  to  them 
and  carefully  read  and  compare  them,  he  will  discover 
that  all  special  gifts  bestowed  upon  church  members 
that  were  to  be  exercised  in  public  for  the  benefit  of 
others  and  for  the  advancement  of  the  gospel  among 
men  were  bestowed  by  "one  and  the  same  Spirit,  di- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  193 

■viding  to  each  one  severally  even  as  he  will."  These 
gifts  include  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  And  foras- 
much as  it,  as  well  as  all  the  others,  was  bestowed  by 
the  sovereign  will  of  the  Spirit,  it  follows  that  its  be- 
stowment  constituted  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a 
divine  call  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  It  happens, 
therefore,  that  the  fathers  were  right  in  demanding 
from  every  one  who  sought  admission  with  their  sanc- 
tion and  good  will  to  that  most  sacred  office  a  reason- 
able evidence  of  having  received  a  divine  call  to  the 
work. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts  we  may  well  be 
proud  of  our  spiritual  ancestors.  When  we  remember 
how  little  learning  they  had  and  to  what  extent  they 
were  dependent  upon  the  Bible  only  for  all  that  they 
knew,  we  are  compelled  to  admire  not  only  their  loy- 
alty to  what  they  believed  to  be  the  truth,  but  also 
their  wonderful  correctness  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures.  True  they  found  some  passages  which 
they  could  not  comprehend.  Others  they  may  have 
treated  allegorically  when  they  were  only  literal  narra- 
tives, and  some  they  may  have  misapplied ;  but  as  to 
matters  of  faith  and  practice  they  w^ere,  indeed,  seldom 
mistaken.  They  certainly  were  not  mistaken  when 
they  believed  in  a  divine  call  to  the  ministry.  But 
-what  are  the  tests  of  such  a  call? 

This  question  implies  that  it  is  possible  to  be  deceived 
in  this  matter.  Both  the  church  and  the  applicant  may 
be  deceived,  and  thus  one  may  be  admitted  to  the  min- 
istry whom  God  has  not  called  to  that  work.  This  mel- 
ancholy fact  invests  t1ie  above  question  with  grave  im- 
portance. I  wish  I  could  answer  it  as  fully  as  it  de- 
serves, but  I  can  offer  only  a  few  suggestions. 


194  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

In  the  first  place,  I  think  it  may  be  assumed'  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  does  not  call  any  man  who  is  not  truly  re- 
generated to  be  an  evangelist — i.  e.,  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel — or  a  pastor  or  bishop  in  the  church.  If  this 
be  true,  then  all  the  evidences  of  a  true  regeneration 
become  a  part  of  the  evidences  that  one  may  be  called 
to  the  ministry.  But  the  evidences  of  regeneration 
are  common  to  all  true  Christians.  And  we  learned  in 
a  former  chapter  that  no  one  should  be  admitted  to 
baptism  and  the  church  without  these  evidences ;  then 
much  more,  no  one  should  be  admitted  to  the  ministry 
without  them.  The  case  may  be  concisely  stated  thus : 
The  Holy  Spirit  does  not  call  all  true  Christians  to  the 
ministry,  but  every  one  whom  he  does  call  must  be  a 
true  Christian.  And,  therefore,  his  being  indeed  a 
child  of  God  is  an  essential  evidence  that  he  is  at  least 
within  the  reach  of  the  Spirit's  call. 

Another  test  of  a  divine  call  may  be  found  in  one's 
conformity  to  the  character  of  a  bishop  as  described  by 
Paul  (I.  Tim.  iii.  2-y).  The  passage  is  too  long  to 
quote.  It  must  suffice  to  say  that  the  character  drawn 
by  Paul  was  intended  to  fit  all  the  conditions  of  human 
life.  But  those  conditions  vary  in  different  individ- 
uals. Paul  speaks  of  the  bishop  whom  he  describes  as 
a  married  man  and  as  having  a  family.  Now  Paul 
could  not  have  meant  that  a  bishop,  elder  or  pastor 
(these  terms  are  only  different  titles  of  the  same  office) 
must  of  necessity  be  a  married  man,  for  that  would 
have  excluded  himself  and  other  apostles.  He  meant 
only  this :  That  a  married  man  to  be  a  bishop  should 
have  but  one  wife  and  should  rule  his  household  in  a 
proper  manner.  In  a  word,  a  bishop  or  pastor  of  to- 
day must  have  the  character  of  the  one  which  Paul 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  195 

described  just  as  far  as  his  conditions  and  opportuni- 
ties will  allow.  And  having  such  a  character  is  an 
evidence  that  the  Spirit  may  have  called  him. 

There  is  yet  another  test  which  deserves  to  be  no- 
ticed. It  is  found  in  the  candidate's  own  experience. 
And  this  is  the  test  which  is  the  most  important  of  all ; 
for  without  it,  unless  he  is  a  willful  hypocrite,  he  would 
never  consent  to  be  ordained  even  if  his  brethren 
should  advise  it. 

But  suppose  he  is  not  a  hypocrite,  but  a  true  Chris- 
tian-Twilling to  serve  the  Master  in  any  way  that  may 
open  before  him. 

Now,  when  we  see  such  a  man  as  this,  after  advice 
with  his  pastor  and  other  pious  friends,  consenting  to 
be  set  apart  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  we  may  know 
that  he  has  what  he  thinks  is  a  good  reason  for  doing 
so.  And  that  reason  is  found  in  the  exercises  of  his 
own  mind  and  heart.  These  exercises,  carried  on  in 
the  realm  of  his  own  consciousness  make  up  an  ex- 
perience which  is  regarded  as  his  "call  to  the  ministrv," 
which  means  that  the  experiences  are  the  evidence  of 
the  call.  It  \Sf  therefore,  just  as  proper  for  the  church 
to  require  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  his  call  to  that  work,  as  it  is  to  require  a 
candidate  for  baptism  to  give  an  account  of  his  conver- 
sion. 


SECTION  TWO. 
WHAT    CONSTITUTES   A    CALL   TO    THE    MINISTRY? 

The  importance  of  this  question  deserves  a  brief 
notice.  During  the  first  century  of  Baptist  history  in 
Georgia  the  attractions  to  the  pulpit  were  very  few.    It 

14 


196  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

promised  no  emolument  or  worldly  glory.  On  the 
contrary,  an  entrance  into  the  work  of  preaching  the 
gospel  demanded,  from  the  very  start,  self-denial,  sac- 
rifice and  hard  labor,  often  attended  with  severe  priva- 
tions. Nor  were  these  trials  limited  to  the  preacher 
only.  Had  this  been  so,  he  might  have  borne  them 
with  greater  resignation.  But  the  good  wife  shared 
fully  the  privations  of  her  husband,  while  she  had  bur- 
dens of  her  own  that  were  largely  increased  when  he 
was  away  filling  his  regular  appointments,  or  making 
a  missionary  tour  to  the  regions  beyond. 

Another  obstacle  to  one's  entering  the  ministry  in 
those  days  has  been  often  alluded  to  in  these  reminis- 
cences. It  was  the  want  of  educational  advantages. 
How  could  a  plain  man,  without  an  education,  under- 
take to  expound  to  others  that  gospel  which  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  wisdom  of  God  ?  Looking  at  the  case 
from  a  human  standpoint,  it  is  truly  wonderful  that  in 
those  days  any  one  should  have  consented  to  become  a 
preacher.  But  the  mystery  is  solved  as  soon  as  we  ad- 
mit that  he  was  called  of  God  by  the  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Let  us  then  consider  what  are  the  constituent  ele- 
ments of  such  a  call.  They  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes.  Some  are  found  in  the  soul  itself.  These  are 
invisible  and  known  only  to  him  who  has  felt  their  in- 
iluence.  For  this  reason  they  may  be  named  the  sub- 
jective elements  of  a  divine  call.  Others  are  found 
outside  of  us.  These  we  can  see  and  hear  and  touch. 
Hence  they  may  be  named  the  objective  elements  of  a 
call.  The  subjective  elements  are  perhaps  the  most 
important.      They   are    impressions,    feelings,    inclina- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  197 

tions,  love  and  desires,  having  their  place  in  the  soul 
itself  and  culminating  at  length  in  one  steady  earnest 
purpose  to  go  forth,  with  God's  help,  to  proclaim  the 
"glad_tidings"  of  salvation  to  dying  men  and  women, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad. 

I  have  given  only  a  general  statement  of  the  case. 
Let  me  amplify  a  little.  The  experience  above  men- 
.  tioned  may  include  on  one  side  a  joyful  sense  of  all 
the  glory  involved  in  the  saint's  salvation  and  on  the 
other  side  a  profound  sense  of  the  awful  doom  of  the 
sinner.  The  soul  impressed  by  the  touch  of  the  Spirit 
with  these  vivid  pictures  would  naturally  become  af- 
fected with  intense  feelings  of  thanksgiving  for  the 
saved,  and  of  sympathy,  pity,  and  love  for  the  lost. 
These  again,  under  the  same  Spirit,  would  lead  on  to 
earnest  desires  and  active  efforts  to  lift  the  lost  from 
the  sinner's  doom  up  to  the  glories  of  the  saints.  All 
these  affections,  having  their  place  in  the  soul  of  one 
who  is  seeking  to  know  what  the  Lord  would  have  him 
to  do,  may  be  well  regarded  as  the  voices  of  the  Spirit 
calling  him  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  So  much  for 
the  subjective  elements  of  such  a  call. 

The  objective  elements  are  no  less  real.  They  are 
made  up  of  a  series  of  providences  so  adjusted  and 
directed  by  the  unseen  Spirit  as  to  lead  the  subject  of 
them  straight  into  the  pulpit.  These  providences  are 
sometimes  apparently  trivial  events — so  trivial,  indeed, 
that  but  for  the  results  flowing  from  them  they  would 
not  be  remembered  for  a  week.  I  know  two  cases  that 
illustrate  this  point.  One  is  the  case  of  Dr.  Albert 
Spalding.     When  quite  a  young  man,  while  a  student 


19^  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

at  Mercer  University,  it  happened  one  day  that  a  friend 
said  to  him  in  substance :  ''Brother  Spalding,  I  heard 
Doctor  Dagg  this  morning  say  of  you,  'Brother  Spald- 
ing ought  to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry.'  "  That 
was  all ;  the  young  man  smiled  and  went  his  way.  But 
only  recently  I  heard  that  dear  brother  confess  that 
those  brief  words,  coming  from  such  a  source,  so  im- 
pressed his  mind  that  he  began  to  inquire  what  the 
Lord  would  have  him  to  do.  We  all  know  the  result. 
For  about  forty  years  he  has  been  a  faithful  laborer  in 
the  harvest-fields  of  the  Master. 

The  case  of  Dr.  W.  L.  Kilpatrick  affords  another 
example.  He  too  was  a  student  at  Mercer.  On  a  cer- 
tain day  he  happened  to  be  in  conversation  with  one 
of  the  professors,  who  it  seems  had  been  thinking  that 
his  young  friend  ought  to  be  a  preacher.  The  pro- 
fessor embraced  the  opportunity  to  talk  to  him  upon  the 
subject.  In  kind  and  gentle  words  he  tried  to  set  be- 
fore him  the  claims  of  the  ministry  upon  his  heart  and 
life,  and  earnestly  advised  him  to  seek,  with  humble 
prayer,  how  he  might  most  successfully  serve  the  Lord. 
Many  years  afterwards  I  heard  Brother  Kilpatrick  al- 
lude to  that  conversation  as  the  very  beginning  of  his 
call  to  the  ministry.  It  was  then  he  took  the  first  step 
in  that  noble  life  which  has  placed  his  name  high  on 
the  roll  of  honor  among  Georgia  Baptists. 

The  world  may  laugh  at  such  incidents  as  these,  and 
ascribe  the  importance  we  give  them  to  an  idle  super- 
stition. But  we  know  that  nothing  is  so  small  as  to  be 
beneath  our  Father's  notice,  and  no  means  are  too  triv- 
ial to  become  efficient  in  the  hands  of  his  Holy  Spirit. 
So  it  was  in  the  cases  mentioned.    The  words  spoken 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  199 

were  few  and  simple,  but  somehow  they  deeply  im- 
pressed the  hearts  of  those  young  brethren,  somehow 
they  were  never  forgotten,  and  somehow  those  brethren 
when  far  advanced  in  life,  referred  to  those  words  as 
giving  them  their  first  impulse  towards  the  ministry. 

What  does  all  this  mean?  Does  it  not  mean  that 
through  those  objective  words  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
calling  those  young  men  to  their  appointed  work  ? 

Now  these  two  cases  may  be  generalized  thus :  When 
a  good  brother  discovers,  in  any  way,  that  his  pious 
friends  or  his  pastor,  or  all  together,  are  somehow 
thinking  of  him  as  a  suitable  man  for  the  ministry,  he 
should  certainly  consider  the  matter  prayerfully  and 
earnestly.  It  may  be  that  the  approbation  of  his  breth- 
ren is  the  medium  through  which  the  Spirit  is  whis- 
pering his  gentle  call  to  the  path  of  duty.  Indeed  this 
conclusion  becomes  certain,  when  we  remember  that 
the  very  qualifications  which  have  enabled  the  young 
man  to  win  the  approbation  of  his  brethren  are  the 
gifts  of  the  Spirit.  And  in  the  same  way,  the  honest 
inquirer  may  safely  interpret  any  and  all  of  those  out- 
ward providences  that  shed  light  upon  his  pathway. 

Then,  when  these  objective  evidences  are  carried  in- 
ward, and  added  to  the  subjective  afifections  already 
explained,  they  form  together  a  proof  of  a  divine  call 
to  the  ministry  that  need  not  be  doubted. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  old-time  Baptists  be- 
lieved firmly  in  the  reality  of  a  divine  call  to  the  min- 
istry. But  many  of  them  had  some  queer  notions  in 
regard  to  it.  Not  such,  however,  as  to  afifect  its  reality. 
In  this  they  believed.  And  hence  every  applicant  for 
admission  into  the  ministry  was  subjected  to  a  critical 
examination  as  to  his  call. 


200  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

SECTION  THREE. 
ORDINATIONS — DEACONS. 

The  Baptist  churches  of  America,  as  far  as  I  know, 
have  always  inducted  men  into  the  ministerial  office  by 
the  authority  of  the  church  with  the  aid  of  a  council  of 
elders,  sometimes  called  a  presbytery.  Being  them- 
selves ministers  in  good  standing,  it  was  thought  that 
they  were  better  able  to  judge  of  the  fitness  of  a  candi- 
date for  the  ministry  than  the  members  of  the  church 
would  be  if  left  to  themselves ;  and  their  official  posi- 
tion was  supposed  to  qualify  them  to  carry  through  the 
whole  ceremony  of  setting  apart  the  candidate  for  the 
work  to  which  he  was  appointed. 

Here  two  questions  occur.  Who  shall  choose  or 
elect  these  officials?  how  shall  they  be  set  apart  to 
their  work?  Baptists  answer  the  first  question  by 
claiming  that  the  New  Testament  clothes  the  church 
itself  with  full  authority  to  elect  its  own  officers.  And 
in  answer  to  the  second,  they  claim  that  those  chosen 
should  be  set  apart  to  their  official  work  in  the  way  in- 
dicated by  the  example  and  teachings  of  the  apostles, 
which,  in  the  case  of  deacons,  was  by  prayer  and  the 
imposition  of  hands,  and  in  the  case  of  ministers,  by 
fasting  and  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands.  These 
modes  of  setting  apart  church  members  to  some  official 
position  are  what  we  call  ordinations. 

Our  Baptist  fathers  practiced  these  ordinations  with 
great  care  and  with  deep  solemnity. 

In  the  case  of  a  deacon,  they  would  call  in  one  or  two 
neighboring  ministers  to  unite  with  the  pastor  in  per- 
forming the  service.    The  brother-elect  was  placed  be- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  201 

fore  elders.    They  proceeded  to  examine  into  his  quali- 
fications for  the  office.    He  was  expected  to  relate  his 
first  religious  experience  that  the  elders  might  judge 
of  the  genuineness  of  his  piety,  and  then  he  was  ex- 
amined on  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel.    When  the  el- 
ders were  satisfied  with  his  fitness  for  the  office,  then, 
with  the  concurrence  and  under  the  authority  of  the 
church  previously  given,  the  elders  kneeled  around  the 
kneeling  brother  and  one  of  them  led  in  prayer,  while 
all  laid  their  hands  upon  his  head.    With  that  prayer, 
the  whole  church,   usually  on  their  knees,   fervently 
united.     When  the  prayer  was  ended,  it  was  not  un- 
common for  one  of  the  council  to  address  the  newly 
appointed  deacon,  that  he  might  explain  to  him   the 
duties  of  his  office  and  emphasize  their  great  import- 
ance.    And  it  was  also  in  order  for  another  elder  to 
follow  the  first  speaker  with  an  address  suited  to  the 
church,  designed  to  explain  their  obligation  to  co-oper- 
ate willingly  and  promptly  with  their  deacons  in  all  the 
services  required  of  them.  Making  allowance  for  slight 
variations,  such  was  the  ordination  of  a  deacon  in  the 
old-time  churches  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

I  can  remember  when  no  Baptist  in  Georgia  would 
venture  to  question  its  Scriptural  authority.  And  I 
well  remember  when  and  by  whom  I  first  heard  it 
questioned.  But  I  prefer  not  to  mention  names.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that  the  argument  against  the  practice 
was  based  upon  two  assumptions.  One  was  this,  that 
the  "seven  brethren"  chosen  by  the  church  at  Jerusa- 
lem, who  were  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  whom  the 
apostles  set  apart  to  a  special  service,  were  not  dea- 
cons at  all,  and  therefore  the  setting  of  them  apart  by 


202  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

prayer  and  the  imposition  of  hands  can  furnish  no 
precedent  for  setting  apart  officers  of  a  difiterent  kind 
in  the  same  way. 

Now,  it  is  clear  that  this  argument  is  based  upon 
the  assumption  that  the  seven  brethren  set  apart  bv 
ordination  to  a  new  and  special  service  in  the  church 
at  Jerusalem  were  not  deacons.  For  the  truth  of  this 
assumption  there  is  no  valid  evidence.  It  is  true,  Luke 
does  not  call  them  deacons,  but  this  omission  is  easily 
explained.  The  polity  of  the  church  was  in  its  inchoate 
state.  Jesus  did  not  enact  in  advance  a  complete  sys- 
tem of  polity.  He  left  it,  in  part,  to  be  developed  grad- 
ually as  circumstances  might  require,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  his  inspired  apostles.  And  it  is  interesting  to 
notice  that  the  very  first  addition  made  by  them 
to  the  polity  of  the  church  was  the  creation  of  a  new 
order  of  church  officials.  They  were  appointed  at  first 
without  a  name,  being  designated  only  as  "the  seven." 
The  design  of  their  appointment,  however,  is  clearly 
stated.  It  was  that  they  should  take  charge  of  the  re- 
sources of  the  church  and  so  disburse  them  as  to  give 
to  all  what  was  just  and  equal,  in  order  that  the  apostles 
might  be  freed  from  such  work  and  be  able  to  devote 
themselves  exclusively  to  the  "ministry  of  the  Word.'' 
And  this  clearly  means  that  they  were  also  designed  to 
help  the  apostles,  who  at  that  time  were  the  acting  el- 
ders of  the  church  at  Jerusalem. 

Now,  it  came  to  pass  in  after  years  that  churches 
were  planted  far  and  wide  over  many  parts  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  And  we  learn,  from  the  writings  of 
the  apostles,  that  there  was  in  those  churches  an  order 
of  servants  called  deacons.    The  word  deacon  is  a  gen- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  203 

■eric  term,  it  is  true,  of  wide  application,  according  to 
its  etymology.  Its  Greek  origin  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  often  applied  to  apostles  and  preachers,  and 
when  so  applied  it  is  rendered  in  our  translation  "min- 
ister," or  by  the  more  general  term,  "servant."  Never- 
theless, there  was  an  order  of  servants  in  the  churches 
distinct  from  all  others,  who  were  called,  specifically, 
deacons. 

Now  it  is,  I  think,  universally  conceded  that  to  this 
class  of  officers  was  assigned  the  care  of  all  the  tem- 
poral interests  of  the  churches,  so  that  the  pastors  (or 
bishops,  or  elders)  might  give  undivided  attention  to 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  their  people.  This  being 
granted,  it  follows  that  the  duties  assigned  to  the  dea- 
cons were  identical,  in  kind,  with  those  assigned  to  the 
"seven"  at  Jerusalem.  Therefore,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  seven,  though  not  so  called,  were  really  the 
very  order  of  servants  which  was  afterwards  specifi- 
cally named  deacons.  They  were  deacons,  and  hence 
the  mode  of  their  ordination  does  furnish  us  a 
clear  example,  under  apostolic  authority,  which  it  is 
wise  and  safe  to  follow.  Nay,  are  we  not  bound  to 
follow  it? 

Those  who  reject  the  ordination  of  the  "seven"  as 
an  example  for  us  to  follow,  make  another  bold  as- 
sumption. They  say  that  the  apostles  who  laid  hands 
-on  the  seven  did  so  that  they  might  confer  upon  them 
the  Holy  Spirit  or  some  special  spiritual  gift. 

Upon  this  assumption  it  is  argued  that  as  the  power 
of  imparting  the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands  passed  away  with  the  apostles,  it  is  now  utterly 
useless  to  continue  it. 


204  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

But  how  do  those  who  reason  thus  know  that 
the  apostles  laid  their  hands  upon  the  seven  to  impart 
to  them  some  spiritual  gift?  This  is  a  mere  assump- 
tion, and  altogether  improbable.  For  the  seven  were 
already  "full  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  which  means,  at 
least,  that  they  were  men  of  deep  and  fervent  piety^ 
and  hardly  needed  extra  gifts  from  the  hands  of  the 
apostles.  They,  indeed,  had  the  power  of  conferring 
spiritual  gifts  upon  whom  they  would,  but  it  is  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  they  would  impart  only  to  those 
who  lacked.     Let  us  then  look  for  another  reason. 

Notice  here  that  the  apostles  knew  that  they  were 
about  to  establish  a  new  order  of  servants ;  one  which 
the  church  at  Jerusalem  already  needed,  and  which  all 
other  churches,  as  they  came  into  life  and  activity, 
would  be  sure  to  need.  Was  it  not,  therefore,  discreet 
and  proper  to  make  the  introduction  of  these  new  serv- 
ants into  their  office  impressive  and  solemn?  If  so,, 
what  better  method  could  have  been  adopted  than  the 
one  which  we  find  reported?  The  record  is  very  brief, 
but  let  us  notice  the  several  items  which  it  gives  us. 
(a)  The  men  were  elected  by  the  whole  church  as  an 
independent  body,  (b)  The  men  chosen  were  expected 
to  be  "men  of  good  report,  full  of  the  Spirit  and  of  wis- 
dom." (c)  They  were  placed  before  the  apostles,  (d) 
*'And  when  they  had  prayed,  they  laid  hands  on  them,"" 
not  to  confer  a  spiritual  gift,  but  in  connection  with 
the  prayer  to  confer  upon  them  only  official  position. 
This  the  ceremony  did  do ;  and  we  do  not  know  that  it 
did  anything  else.  I  think,  therefore,  the  argument 
based  upon  the  second  assumption  is  fairly  answered. 

Now,  our  Baptist  fathers,  as  a  rule,  were  not  learned 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  205 

men  or  critics.  And  yet  they  took  substantially  the 
same  view  of  this  interesting  subject  that  I  have  pre- 
sented. This  will  appear  more  fully  when  I  come  to 
speak  of  the  ordination  of  ministers.  Let  us  still  seek 
the  old  paths. 


SECTION  FOUR. 
ORDINATIONS — MINISTERS. 

The  two  services  were  very  similar,  both  in  their 
conditions  and  in  their  forms.  In  each  case  the  candi- 
date was  expected  to  be  a  man  of  deep  piety,  and  in 
each  case  he  was  set  apart  to  his  official  position  by 
prayer  and  the  imposition  of  hands.  But  in  the  case  of 
ministers  something  more  was  required.  They  were 
expected  to  be  not  only  pious  men,  but  also  men  who 
could  give  credible  evidence  of  a  divine  call  to  the  min- 
istry. And  they  were  set  apart  to  their  work  not  only 
by  prayer  and  the  imposition  of  hands,  but  these  were 
preceded  by  fasting.  At  least,  the  members  of  the 
council,  or  presbytery,  and  the  candidate  were  ex- 
pected to  come  to  the  service  fasting.  This  was  con- 
sidered of  so  much  importance  that  if  one  of  the  ap- 
pointed council  happened  to  forget  himself  and  to 
eat  his  breakfast  on  the  day  set  apart  for  the  service,  he 
felt  himself  disqualified  for  assisting  in  the  ordination. 
He  would  take  a  seat  with  the  church  members  as  only 
a  spectator.  If  in  this  we  should  admit  that  he  was 
overscrupulous,  still  the  fact  shows  with  what  pro- 
found reverence  those  early  Georgia  saints  approached 
an  ordination  service. 

When  the  elders  whom  the  church  had  invited  to 


2o6  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

attend  were  assembled  at  the  proper  time  and  place, 
and  were  duly  organized,  then  the  candidate,  with  the 
consent  and  under  the  sanction  of  his  church,  came 
before  the  council. 

I  should  have  mentioned,  however,  that  the  candi- 
date, before  the  ordination  service  began,  was  usually 
expected  to  preach  on  that  morning  in  order  to  let  the 
invited  elders  hear  him,  that  they  might  have  some 
personal  knowledge  of  his  gifts  as  a  public  speaker. 
After  this  the  candidate  took  his  seat  before  the  el- 
ders, who  proceeded  with  the  service.  The  chairman 
of  the  council  conducted  the  examination. 

He  first  requested  the  candidate  to  relate  his  expe- 
rience, then  to  give  a  statement  of  his  doctrinal  views. 
The  next  step  was  to  test  his  personal  character  and  his 
life.  To  this  end  the  chairman  could  either  recite  ver- 
batim, or  read  from  the  Scriptures,  the  qualifications, 
given  in  I.  Tim.  iii.  1-7,  which  should  adorn  the  life 
and  character  of  one  who  desires  to  be  made  a  bishop 
(elder  or  pastor).  Here  they  touched  his  social  and  re- 
ligious standing,  both  in  the  church  and  in  the  outside 
world.  Of  course  they  did  not  expect  the  candidate  to 
speak  for  himself  in  regard  to  these  qualifications. 
They  knew  that  the  church  had  enjoyed  the  best  op- 
portunity to  know  the  brother's  standing,  and,  there- 
fore, they  could  take  it  for  granted  that  the  church 
would  not  have  given  him  their  indorsement  and  called 
him  to  ordination  if  they  had  not  believed  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  requisite  qualifications.  Nevertheless,  the 
Apostle's  specifications  were  publicly  read,  and  it  was 
assumed,  if  no  objection  was  made,  that  the  candidate 
fairly  met  their  requirements. 

The  next  step  in  the  examination  was  to  have  the 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  207 

candidate  give  some  account  of  his  call  to  the  ministry ; 
for  our  Baptist  fathers  believed  with  all  their  hearts 
in  the  reality  of  such  a  call.  And  their  experiences 
on  the  subject  were  sometimes  wonderful  to  tell.  Some 
of  them  seemed  to  feel  that  it  might  show  a  little  self- 
conceit  if  they  should  hearken  at  once  to  certain  im- 
pressions which  might  indicate  the  drawings  of  the 
Spirit.  They,  therefore,  from  modesty  and  self- 
distrust,  would  resist  the  wooings  of  the  Spirit  for 
months  and  sometimes  for  years. 

Such  hesitation  and  delay  not  infrequently  afforded 
occasion  for  the  intervention  of  startling  and  sad  provi- 
dences. A  man  deeply  impressed  with  his  duty  to 
labor  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  yet  resisting  his  im- 
pressions, might  be  suddenly  visited  by  some  unex- 
pected calamity.  It  might  be  the  death  of  some  be- 
loved member  of  his  household.  Being  already  bur- 
dened with  his  inward  experiences,  is  it  strange  that 
such  a  one  should  regard  his  bereavement  as  a  judg- 
ment of  God  designed  to  make  him  yield  to  the  moni- 
tions of  the  Spirit  ?  And  is  it  strange  that,  in  the  face 
of  such  incidents,  a  brother  before  a  council  should 
relate  them  as  among  the  reasons  why  he  believed 
that  the  Lord  had  called  him  ? 

However,  it  is  pleasant  and,  no  doubt,  correct  to  be- 
lieve that  a  great  many  of  the  old-time  preachers  did 
not  wait  to  be  scourged,  as  it  were,  into  the  ministry. 
They  wisely  gave  heed  to  the  impressions  that  weighed 
upon  their  hearts  in  respect  to  the  question  of  duty  be- 
fore them.  These  impressions  may  have  varied  greatly 
in  different  persons.  But  I  think  there  are  three  that 
are  manifestly  found  in  all  true  ministers.     One  is  a 


2o8  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

sincere  desire  to  promote  the  glory  of  God  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  kingdom.  Another  is  a  deep,  abid- 
ing concern  for  the  ungodly,  accompanied  with  a  strong 
desire,  if  possible,  to  lead  them  to  Jesus.  And  the 
third  is  an  earnest  desire  to  build  up  the  children  of 
God  in  their  faith  and  to  promote,  as  far  as  possible, 
their  growth  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 

These  impressions  may  differ  very  much  in  degree, 
and  they  may  be  described  in  various  terms,  but  each 
has  its  basis  in  the  inspired  Word.  The  first  rests  upon 
the  injunction,  "Whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  for  the  glory 
of  God."  The  second  rests  upon  the  Savior's  words, 
"Go,  therefore,  and  make  disciples  among  all  nations." 
And  the  third  rests  upon  his  words  to  Peter,  ''Feed 
my  lambs" — "Feed  my  sheep."  And  taken  together, 
they  voice  the  sentiment  of  the  Apostle  when  he  says, 
"The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us"  .  .  .  "That  we 
should  live  not  for  ourselves,  but  for  him  who  died  for 
us  and  rose  again." 

When  these  impressions  become  paramount  in  a  be- 
liever's heart,  there  is  a  preacher  in  embryo.  It  will 
not  be  long  before  he  will  appear  before  the  council, 
and  it  will  not  be  difficult  for  him  to  relate  his  call  to 
the  ministry. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  the  ordination. 

The  preliminary  examination  being  closed,  then  the 
presbytery,  or  council,  proceeded  to  the  ordination 
proper.  This  was  accomplished,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
deacons,  with  the  consecrating  prayer  and  the  laying 
on  of  hands.  Then  followed  one  or  m^ore  addresses, 
first  to  the  candidate,  designed  to  impress  upon  him  the 
obligations  which  he  had  assumed  and  the  great  work 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  209 

upon  which  he  had  entered ;  and  second,  to  the  church, 
designed  to  remind  them  of  their  obhgations  to  give 
to  the  brother,  whom  they  had  caused  to  be  set  apart 
to  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel,  all  the  moral  sup- 
port, sympathy  and  encouragement  that  might  be  in 
their  power  to  give. 

When  the  addresses  were  ended,  the  exercises  were 
finally  closed  with  an  appropriate  hymn,  accompanied 
with  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  given  to  the  newly 
made  preacher  as  a  token  of  the  sympathy  and  love 
which  the  presiding  elders  and  the  church  felt  for  him. 
Thus  they  sent  him  forth  upon  the  great  and  solemn 
work  assigned  him. 

I  think  that  I  have  fairly  set  forth  in  the  foregoing 
paragraphs  what  was  the  usual  ordination  service  in 
our  old-time  churches  of  Georgia  Baptists.  And  1  am 
glad  to  hope  and  believe  that  our  churches  of  the  pres- 
ent generation  follow  very  closely  the  example  of  our 
fathers  in  their  ordination  services. 

But  did  our  fathers  have  Scriptural  authority  for 
their  methods?  They  certainly  did  in  every  essential 
particular.  We  find  it  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Acts. 
We  there  learn  that  in  the  church  at  Antioch  were 
prophets  and  teachers:  viz.,  Barnabas,  Simeon, 
Lucius,  Manaen  and  Saul.  In  all,  five  persons  are 
named.  We  learn  also  that  two  of  them — Barnabas 
and  Saul — had  not  yet  been  set  apart  by  any  formal 
or  visible  action  to  the  work  to  which  God  had  called 
them.  Subsequent  events  plainly  show  that  that  work 
was  the  preaching  of  the  gospel — the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, as  it  is  called  in  our  day.  Again,  we  learn  that 
while  they  were  engaged  in  some  sort  of  service,  "the 
Holy  Spirit  said,  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Paul  for 


2IO  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them."  How  was 
this  separation  accomplished?  The  record  gives  the 
answer:  "Then,  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed  and 
laid  their  hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away." 
Simeon,  Lucius  and  Manaen  were,  no  doubt,  the  offici- 
ating ministers.  The  narrative  is  very  short,  but  as  far 
as  it  goes,  it  certainly  affords  a  clear  example  in  all 
essential  particulars  of  what  we  call  an  ordination  of  a 
minister. 

I  close  with  a  single  admonition.  Let  us  most  care- 
fully avoid  all  departures  from  the  New  Testament. 
The  only  example  of  the  ordination  of  a  minister  found 
in  the  New  Testament  mentions  fasting  as  a  part  of 
the  service.  And  our  fathers  observed  it.  Let  not 
our  churches  now  fail  to  follow  their  example  in  ad- 
hering closely  to  the  inspired  Word. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
Old-Time  Churches  (concluded). 


section  one. 
their  social  life. 

In  approaching  this  topic  let  us  bear  in  mind  that 
Georgia  Baptists  have  generally  lived  in  the  country. 
During  the  early  decades  of  the  century  there  were 
hardly  a  half-dozen  towns  in  the  State  that  had  in 
them  a  Baptist  church.  And  even  now  the  great  ma- 
jority of  our  people  are  in  the  country,  and  there  are 
their  churches.  Under  such  conditions  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  their  social  privileges,  especially  in  the 
early  days,  were  greatly  hindered. 

Nevertheless  they  did  make  visits  occasionally  to 
one  another.  The  visits  were  not  "pop  calls."  The 
visitor,  or  visitors,  would  make  arrangements  to  be 
absent  from  home  at  least  for  a  day,  and  sometimes  for 
several  days.  It  was  perfectly  in  order  for  the  lady 
visitors  to  take  their  work-baskets  with  them,  that 
they  might  not  have  to  sit  with  idle  hands  during  the 
passing  hours.  And  it  was  equally  in  order  for  the 
kind  hostess,  after  she  had  greeted  her  visitors  and 
put  away  their  shawls  and  bonnets  and  seated  them  in 
her  best  room,  to  withdraw  awhile  to  the  pantry  to 
arrange  with  the  cook  for  a  dinner  that  should  be 
worthy  of  her  guests.  Having  thus  provided  for  the 
claims  of  hospitality,  she  would  return  to  her  com- 
pany, and,  sitting  down  by  her  own  work-basket  and 

211 
15 


312  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

resuming  her  task  where  she  had  left  it,  she  would 
open  with  her  friends  the  fountains  of  social  enjoy- 
ment, aided  by  her  husband  and  perhaps  by  her  older 
children. 

Besides  these  occasional  visits,  there  were  a  few 
other  opportunities  of  social  intercourse.  There  were 
the  quilting  parties,  which  some  of  our  older  readers 
may  remember.  To  these  may  be  added  the  barbe- 
cues, which  are  still  well  known  as  means  of  bringing 
into  social  contact  chiefly  the  male  population  of  the 
country.  Then  there  were  the  everlasting  marriage 
festivals  that  have  survived  the  ravages  of  time  and  are 
likely  to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  present  era. 

I  have  made  special  mention  of  these  phases  of  social 
life,  because  church  members,  of  all  denominations, 
felt  themselves  at  liberty  to  enjoy  them.  But  after 
all,  they  afforded  only  an  occasional  opportunity  of 
coming  together,  for  the  reason  that  in  any  given 
neighborhood  years  might  pass  without  any  one  of 
them.  However,  as  often  as  there  was  opportunity, 
it  was  deemed  admissible  for  religious  people  freely  to 
share  them,  for  they  brought  together  the  best  elements 
of  each  neighborhood  and  cultivated  among  the  people 
pleasant  and  lasting  friendships. 

But  the  social  life  of  our  fathers  and  mothers  of  the 
olden  time  had  in  it  an  element  that  deserves  to  be 
most  strongly  emphasized.  This  was  their  religious 
conversation. 

I  do  not  mean  to  claim  this  element  of  social  life  for 
Baptists  only,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  joyful  thanksgiving 
to  God  that  they  possessed  it  (and  in  a  high  degree) 
in  common  with  all  truly  religious  people  of  other  de- 
nominations.    They  might  meet   on   social  visits,  as 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  213 

already  mentioned,  or  at  the  quilting,  or  at  a  dining, 
or  at  a  wedding — no  matter  where — they  would  not  be 
together  long  without  speaking  of  Jesus  and  his  love, 
or  of  some  sweet  passage  of  Scripture,  or  of  some 
item  in  the  Christian's  experience.  In  a  word,  re- 
ligion, when  Christians  were  together,  and  time  and 
opportunity  allowed,  was  sure  to  be,  in  all  its  phases, 
the  leading  staple  of  conversation. 

Some  good  effects  of  this  custom  were  to 
strengthen  their  own  spirituality  and  to  promote  their 
own  growth  in  grace.  Another  effect  was  to  impress 
their  children  with  the  importance  of  religion.  When 
they  saw  how  much  their  parents  delighted  to  talk 
about  religion,  they  could  not  fail  to  see  that  their 
parents  regarded  it  as  the  chief  concern  of  this  present 
life.  So  great  a  place  did  religious  conversation  hold 
in  the  social  life  of  early  Georgia  Baptists. 

Another  element  of  that  life  was  found  in  their  so- 
cial worship. 

What  is  social  worship?  It  is  the  worship  of  two 
or  three  pious  souls  who  have  met  for  that  purpose  in 
the  name  of  Jesus.  The  number  may  be  few  or  many. 
The  place  may  be  anywhere  under  the  blue  sky  that 
Christians  may  choose  to  meet  that  they  may  worship 
the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  in  social  worship  the  social  life  of  the  saints 
reaches  the  very  highest  development  that  it  can  ever 
reach  this  side  of  heaven.  For  it  is  social  worship 
that  weaves  the  golden  threads  of  Christian  fellowship 
that  bind  together,  in  one  body,  the  consecrated  broth- 
erhood of  the  saints.  Such  is  the  power  of  social 
worship. 

When  a  father  and  a  mother  have  around  them  a 


214  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

family  of  children  whom  they  would  train  up  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,  they  can  not 
safely  dispense  with  family  prayer.  And  this  is  the 
first  form  of  social  worship.  What  a  privilege  it  is  for 
anxious  parents !  It  makes  their  house  a  Bethel,  nay, 
it  makes  the  little  chamber,  when  they  gather  around 
the  old  Bible  that  lies  upon  the  stand  ever  ready  to 
pour  forth  from  its  inspired  pages  the  light  of  the 
great  "Shekinah,"  the  antitype  of  that  "most  Holy 
Place."  with  its  golden  altar  and  mysterious  "mercy 
seat,"  which  lay  behind  the  curtain  within  the  ancient 
tabernacle  (see  Heb.  x.  T-23).  Can  we  ever  overesti- 
mate the  value  of  family  prayer?  The  father  who 
conducts  it  is  the  priest  of  his  household.  He  brings 
to  the  domestic  altar,  not  the  blood  of  dumb  animals, 
but  the  blood  of  Christ,  "which  speaketh  better  things 
than  the  blood  of  Abel."  Yes,  in  many  a  poor  man's 
cottage,  in  many  a  widow's  home,  there  goes  up  to 
heaven,  through  faith  in  the  crucified  One,  a  purer 
worship  than  even  Solomon  was  ever  able  to  render. 

Now,  I  do  not  claim  that  family  prayer  was  uni- 
versally observed  in  every  household  of  our  Baptist 
fathers,  but  I  do  say  that  as  far  as  my  memory  can 
reach  it  was  not  the  exception  but  the  rule  in  truly 
pious  families. 

Again  we  have  another  form  of  social  worship.  It 
is  found  in  the  prayer-meeting.  This  is  only  the  ex- 
pansion of  family  worship.  It  is  a  meeting  together  of 
one  or  more  from  several  families  for  prayer  and 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  and  for  hearing  some  Scrip- 
tural lesson  read  and  expounded.  Under  favorable 
conditions  it  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  family  wor- 
ship, with  a  larger  circle  of  social  influence  and  of  re- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  215 

ligioiis  power.    How  did  the  old-time  churches  regard 
the  prayer-meeting?    They  dearly  loved  it. 

I  am  sure  that  this  is  true,  although  they  did  not 
often  have  the  privilege  of  attending  a  prayer-meeting. 
Their  churches  were,  with  few  exceptions,  located  in 
the  country,  which  was  so  sparsely  settled  that  church 
members  were  too  widely  scattered  to  meet  at  night, 
with  any  sort  of  regularity,  either  at  private  houses  or 
at  the  meeting-house.  They  were,  therefore,  limited 
for  the  most  part  to  occasional  opportunities.  These 
occurred  sometimes  during  district  and  associational 
gatherings.  At  such  times  delegates  and  visitors 
would  be  distributed  in  groups  among  the  neighboring 
families  for  the  night  in  sufficient  numbers  to  make  up 
a  prayer-meeting.  I  know  from  personal  experience 
how  delightful  such  prayer-meetings  could  be  made. 
The  services  at  the  meeting-house  during  the  day  and 
in  the  neighboring  cottages  at  night  afforded  much  en- 
joyment to  pious  people. 


SECTION  TWO. 
THEIR  PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 

This  was  held,  with  a  few  exceptions,  but  once  a 
month.  Only  in  the  cities  and  in  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant towns  were  the  Baptists  able  to  have  public 
worship  more  frequently.  And  many  of  them  had  to 
be  satisfied  with  two  Sundays. 

At  such  meetings  the  pastor,  if  present,  would  of 
course  preach,  unless  a  visiting  minister  was  on  hand. 
In  that  case  the  pastor  would  generally  Invite  the  visit- 
ing brother  to  preach  for  him,  and  it  was  not  unusual 
for  both   to   preach,   sometimes  with   and   sometimes 


21 6  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

without  an  intermission.  When  the  visitor  carne  un- 
expectedly and  no  second  service  was  anticipated,  then 
the  two  sermons  would  both  be  preached,  one  right 
after  the  other,  without  any  recess ;  but  if  two  services 
were  anticipated,  and  the  good  sisters  had  brought  re- 
freshments, then  there  would  be  two  services — one  in 
the  morning,  followed  by  a  recess,  during  which  it 
was  in  order  to  enjoy  the  refreshments  provided  by 
the  sisters.  It  is  true,  they  had  no  booths  woven  of 
green  boughs,  for  they  did  not  need  them.  They  had 
for  their  shelter  the  rich  foliage  of  the  majestic  oaks 
and  other  lofty  trees  that  shaded  the  ground  around 
the  meeting-house,  and  yet,  a  Bible  reader,  in  looking 
upon  such  a  scene,  would  be  reminded  of  "the  fea^t 
of  tabernacles"  which  the  ancient  Hebrews  loved  so 
well.  It  was  a  scene  of  social  enjoyment,  modified  to 
a  large  extent  by  the  prevalence  of  the  religious  senti- 
ment, and  the  effect  was  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly 
relations  among  all  the  people  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  to  develop  among  church  members  a  deeper  sense 
of  Christian  fellowship. 

On  such  occasions,  the  preaching  was  based,  in  a 
large  measure,  upon  the  Christian's  experience.  This 
was  a  subject  which  the  preachers  understood.  They 
could  present  it  in  all  its  many-sided  aspects,  and  they 
knew  the  Scriptures  that  served  to  illustrate  it  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation.  Hence  it  became  in  their  hands 
a  mighty  means  of  "strengthening  their  brethren"  and 
of  building  them  up  in  the  faith  and  hope  of  the  gos- 
pel. 

Nor  was  this  all.  While  such  preaching  was  more 
especially  designed  to  instruct  and  to  comfort  believ- 
ers, yet  it  was  by  no  means  intended  only  for  them. 


Rciiiiniscciiccs  of  Georgia  Baptists.  217 

It  often  passed  beyond  the  saints  and  carried  enlight- 
enment and  comfort  to  many  a  mourning  soul  and 
troubled  penitent.  Indeed,  these  sermons  of  the  expe- 
rience often  sent  arrows  of  swift  conviction  to  pierce 
the  hearts  of  the  ungodly.  When  the  preacher  had 
strengthened  and  comforted  his  people  with  the  sweet 
realities  of  a  genuine  experience,  he  could  then,  with 
great  power  and  pathos,  appeal  to  the  unconverted  be- 
fore him  with  that  fearful  warning  "the  sinner  must 
be  born  again" — a  warning  which  the  Christian's  ex- 
perience both  strongly  emphasizes  and  clearly  confirms. 
The  sinner  must  be  born  again.  And  the  preachers  of 
the  olden  time  made  the  people  feel  it. 

In  noticing  the  customs  of  our  Baptist  fathers  when 
met  for  worship,  it  is  certainly  in  order  to  say  some- 
thing about  their  singing. 

Religious  music  is  as  old  as  Moses  and  Miriam.  It 
was  illustrated  by  David,  and  became  at  an  early  day 
an  important  part  of  the  services  that  were  offered  to 
the  great  Jehovah.  And  Jesus  gave  it  his  sanction,  for 
we  learn  that  when  he  was  with  his  disciples  for  the 
last  time,  they  sang  a  hymn  before  they  went  forth  to 
meet  the  dreadful  scenes  that  were  so  soon  to  follow. 
Then,  years  afterwards,  we  read  that  Paul  and  Silas, 
in  the  prison  at  Philippi,  cheered  the  midnight  hours 
with  sacred  song. 

With  such  antecedents,  it  is  not  strange  that  music 
should  accompany  the  worship  of  the  saints  through  all 
the  succeeding  centuries.  In  the  face  of  such  facts, 
we  need  not  doubt  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  divine  pur- 
pose to  make  singing  one  medium  through  which  the 
pious  worshiper  might  lift  his  thanksgivings  and  his 
longings  up  to  the  very  throne  of  God.     That  it  was 


2i8  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

designed  to  be  such  a  medium  is  clearly  taught  by 
Paul.  Speaking  to  the  Ephesian  church  he  says :  "Be 
filled  with  the  Spirit,  speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms 
and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making 
melody  in  your  heart  unto  the  Lord." 

According  to  these  words,  sacred  song  should  be 
the  outward  expression  of  the  inward  affect. ons  of  the 
soul  towards  God. 

The  world  has  its  songs :  thus  we  hear  the  lover 
praising  in  song  the  charms  of  his  mistress.  Then  we 
hear  the  votary  of  nature  describing  in  song  her  diver- 
sified beauties  as  they  shine  on  earth  from  all  its  varied 
scenery,  or  glow  in  the  skies  with  all  the  glory  of  the 
stars.  Again,  we  hear  the  patriot  celebrating  in  song 
the  good  and  the  great,  the  heroes  and  the  statesmen — 
in  a  word,  all  distinguished  benefactors,  who  have 
lived  to  honor  and  to  bless  the  land  of  their  nativitv. 
In  all  these  cases  it  is  manifest  that  the  function  of 
song  is  to  express  the  feelings  of  the  soul. 

In  the  cases  above  mentioned,  it  is  obvious  that  in 
each  case  the  music  should  be  rightly  adapted  to  the 
object  which  it  is  designed  to  celebrate.  Who  would 
think  of  celebrating  the  towering  heights  of  Mont 
Blanc,  with  all  its  awful  wonders  of  crag  and  cliff  and 
avalanche,  in  the  same  strain  with  which  a  lover  would 
serenade  his  sweetheart? 

But  there  is  an  object  higher  than  IMont  Blanc, 
more  awful  than  the  avalanche,  and  yet,  more  lovely 
than  the  flowery  earth,  or  the  garnished  skies,  and 
far  more  worthy  of  gratitude  and  of  thanksgiving  than 
any  human  friend  or  benefactor  can  ever  be.  That 
object  is  God.  And  it  is  in  his  worship  that  song 
should  find  its  highest  and  noblest  exercise.  And 
surely  it  ought  to  be  in  measures  worthy  of  the  exalted 
being  whose  praises  it  is  designed  to  celebrate. 

Now  where  shall  we  find  such  music?  Not  in  the 
organ,  or  cornet,  or  flute,  or  violin.     These  are,  or 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  219 

■should  be,  only  accompaniments.  When  they  stand 
alone,  their  volume  of  sound  can  rise  no  higher  than 
the  vaulted  ceiling  of  the  auditorium.  Such  music  can 
be  found  only  in  the  "Scriptural  songs"  wherewith  the 
worshiper  makes  sweet  "melodies  in  his  heart"  unto 
God. 

I  think  this  was  the  kind  of  music  which  was  often 
heard  in  the  old-time  churches.  They  wanted  music 
that  would  voice  their  religious  affections  of  every 
kind,  and  their  hymns  were  adapted  to  supply  this 
want.  They  might  be  sometimes  affected  with  peni- 
tential sorrow,  perplexed  with  painful  doubts,  or  they 
might  be  in  full  assurance  of  faith  rejoicing  in  the 
love  of  God  and  in  the  hope  of  heaven,  or  they  might 
be  melted  with  tender  compassion  for  the  ungodly  who 
are  without  hope.  Well,  there  were  hymns  suited  to 
•express  all  these  emotions,  and  when  our  fathers  and 
mothers  sang  them,  their  holv  desires  were  wafted  up 
to  heaven.  There  may  have  been  but  little  culture, 
there  may  have  been  some  harsh  sounds  and  perhaps 
some  discords,  but  ti.e  Lord,  in  spite  of  such  imperfec- 
tions, could  discern  the  melodies  that  came  up  from 
the  heart,  and  these  he  graciously  accepted.  Oh,  that 
we  could  have  again  some  of  the  old-time  hymns ! 
Well  do  I  remember  them,  and  greatlv  do  I  miss  them. 


SECTION  THREE. 
THEIR  DOCTRINAL  VIEWS. 

Throughout  these  reminiscences,  it  has  been  as- 
sumed, and  often  mentioned  in  terms,  that  our  Bap- 
tist fathers  were  sound  in  their  faith.  But  before  leav- 
ing the  old-time  churches  it  may  be  well  to  treat  their 
doctrinal  views  a  little  more  fully  than  has  yet  been 
done. 

The  Baptists  of  Georgia,  from  the  very  beginning  of 
their  development  in  this  State,  acknowledged  no  au- 


220  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

thority  in  matters  of  "faith  and  of  practice,"  except  the 
Scriptures.  It  is  true,  each  church  had  what  was 
called  its  abstract  of  principles,  or  its  confession  of 
faith.  Bvit  this  abstract,  or  confession,  was  adopted  by 
each  church,  as  an  independent  body,  for  itself,  and 
it  was  held  to  be  valid  only  so  far  as  its  subscribers 
believed  it  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  Bible.  In  con- 
troversies with  their  opponents,  Baptists  never  appeal 
to  the  confessions  found  in  their  church  records,  but 
directly  and  exclusively  to  the  inspired  Word.  And 
so  did  our  fathers  of  the  long  ago.  They  were  loyal  to 
the  Scriptures  as  they  understood  them. 

I  do  not  mean  to  claim  that  those  early  Baptists  had 
no  diversities  of  opinion  among  them.  This  could 
hardly  be  expected.  When  we  consider  how  people 
differ  from  one  another  in  environment,  in  intelligence, 
in  habits  of  thought,  and  in  the  structure  of  their  sen- 
sibilities, is  it  any  wonder  that  they  should  dififer  some- 
what when  they  undertake  to  discuss  the  grave  ques- 
tions of  religious  truth?  Is  it  not  rather  wonderful 
that  they  should  agree  at  all?  And  yet  our  fathers  did 
agree  to  such  an  extent  that  they  were  one  people  in 
Christian  fellowship. 

I  do  not  propose  here  to  formulate  their  creed,  for 
their  creed  was  the  Bible,  and  to  attempt  to  outline  its 
teachings  would  far  exceed  my  limits.  I  propose 
rather  to  state  the  things  they  believed  in  a  way  of  my 
own,  and  yet  all  the  essential  elements  of  their  faith. 

I.  They  believed  in  the  God  of  the  Bible.  I  put  the 
item  in  this  form  because  it  distinguishes  them,  at 
once,  from  every  other  class  of  theists  known  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth.  This  distinction  has  become  im- 
portant in  these  modern  times.    There  are  people  who 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  221 

openlv  declare  the  God  of  the  Bible  to  be  unworthy  of 
their  love  or  worship.  Then  there  are  others  who, 
less  bold,  will  not  go  quite  so  far  in  their  blasphemy. 
They  even  profess  to  accept  the  Bible  as  in  some  de- 
gree a  revelation  from  God.  But  those  passages  that 
express  the  burning  wrath  of  God  against  the  wicked, 
that  foretell  the  coming  judgment  and  the  perdition  of 
ungodly  men,  are  erased  by  a  reckless  criticism  as  al- 
together unworthy  of  their  conceptions  of  what  the 
character  of  God  ought  to  be.  Which  means,  that  if 
the  rejected  passages  should  prove  to  be  genuine, 
then  these  wise  critics  would  claim  that  they  could  no 
longer  reverence  or  love  the  God  of  the  Bible.  The 
God  which  they  pretend  to  worship  is  a  god  which  they 
have  constructed  for  themselves  under  the  dominating 
influence,  not  of  right  reason  (as  they  proudly  claim), 
but  of  their  carnal  sensibilities.  And  the  thing  which 
they  have  thus  thought  out  is  as  truly  an  idol  as  if  it 
had  been  cut  by  the  hand  of  the  sculptor  from  a  block 
of  marble. 

Against  all  such  perversions  our  Baptist  fathers  ac- 
cepted the  God  of  the  Bible.  And  they  claimed  no 
other.  Nay,  they  would  have  no  other.  Hence,  it  fol- 
lowed, as  a  matter  of  course,  that  their  theology  was 
the  theology  of  the  Bible.  True,  they  could  see  the 
glory  of  God  as  it  shines  in  the  phenomena  of  nature ; 
but  they  saw  that  glory  more  efifulgent  as  it  shines 
through  the  revelation  which  God  has  given  of  himself 
in  his  own  inspired  Word.  In  all  this  our  fathers  were 
thoroughly  agreed. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  they  believed  all  that  the  Bible 
teaches  us  about  God.  This,  indeed,  is  a  logical  infer- 
ence from  what  has  gone  before,  but  it  may  be  useful 


323  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

to  notice  briefly  what  the  fathers  believed  that  the 
Bible  does  teach  about  God.  (a)  They  beHeved  that 
God  has  revealed  himselfi  to  us  as  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit,  constituting  a  compound  Unity, 
which,  in  modern  times,  we  have  learned  to  call  the 
*'Holy  Trinity."  (b)  They  believed  that  this  triune 
God  is  the  creator  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth,  and 
of  all  that  is  in  them,  (c)  They  believed  that  he  is  a 
being  absolutely  perfect  in  all  the  attributes  of  his 
exalted  nature,  and  is  in  fact  the  absolute  sovereign  of 
the  universe  which  he  has  created,  and  its  rightful 
Lawgiver  and  Ruler,  (d)  They  also  believed  that  God 
created  man  in  his  own  image,  or  likeness,  and  en- 
dowed him  with  such  faculties  of  mind  and  heart  as 
qualified  him  to  be  an  intelligent  and  voluntary  agent, 
and  a  fit  subject  of  moral  government.  In  regard  to 
all  these  points  also,  our  Baptist  fathers  were  in  per- 
fect agreement.    But  this  is  not  all. 

3.  They  believed  that  God  had  devised  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world  a  plan  for  the  salvation  of 
mankind.  Account  for  it  as  we  may,  it  is  a  fact  that 
the  human  race  has  suffered  through  all  the  centuries 
of  its  existence  as  if  it  had  been  from  the  beginning 
accursed  of  God.  But  behind  the  curse,  there  lay  in 
the  bosom  of  God  a  purpose  of  mercy.  It  was  the 
great  scheme  of  human  redemption.  Its  first  intima- 
tion to  man  was  heard  amidst  the  curses  which  drove 
him  away  from  the  Garden  of  Eden.  It  was  then  an- 
nounced that  "the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the 
serpent's  head."  These  words  spanned  the  dark  cloud 
of  divine  wrath  that  overhung  our  first  parents  at  the 
Garden  of  Eden  with  a  bow  of  promise  far  more 
precious  than  the  sevenfold  arch  that  gilded  the  clouds 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  223 

of  the  retiring  deluge.  This  was  a  promise  of  exemp- 
tion from  only  a  future  deluge  of  water,  but  the  words 
at  the  Garden  betokened  a  deliverance  of  men  from 
the  awful  flood  of  moral  guilt  and  ruin  into  which  the 
great  adversary  had  plunged  them. 

The  scheme  of  redemption  thus  foretold  brings  to 
our  view  the  three  exalted  persons  of  the  Godhead. 
"The  Father  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  might 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  Then  we  learn  that 
the  Son,  when  speaking  of  his  approaching  death, 
said :  "I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep;  no  man  taketh 
it  from  me.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have 
power  to  take  it  again."  Here  it  is  clear  he  made 
himself  a  free-will  offering  to  his  Father  as  a  ransom 
for  his  people.  Then  the  Holy  Spirit  is  often  men- 
tioned as  the  divine  agent  who  gives  efficiency  to  the 
Word  of  God  upon  the  heart  of  the  sinner  that  he 
may  be  quickened  into  spiritual  life  and  become  a  child 
of  God.  Thus  it  is  manifest  that  the  triune  God,  in  the 
great  work  of  redemption,  is  One.  Hence  it  is  evident, 
and  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  know  it,  that  the  Holy 
Three  are  working  together  in  perfect  fellowship  for 
the  salvation  of  lost  sinners. 

What  has  been  said  so  far  brings  to  our  view  another 
great  truth.  It  is  that  the  plan  of  salvation  is  founded 
upon  the  expiatory  sufiferings  of  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ  who  was  the  Son  of  God.  He  took  upon 
himself  our  nature,  sin  only  excepted,  and  made  him- 
self an  ofifering  for  sin,  that  "God  might  be  just  and 
the  justifier  of  him  who  believeth  in  Jesus."  The 
Scriptures  abound  with  proof  that  Jesus  "died  for  our 
ofifenses,  and  was  raised  again  for  our  justification." 


2  34  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

So  he  became  '"'the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world." 

I  have  already  said  that  our  Baptist  fathers  believed 
in  the  plan  of  salvation.  And  I  feel  sure  that  they 
also  believed  in  the  important  truths  which  we  have 
found  to  be  included  in  its  conditions  and  which  have 
been  briefly  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs. 

Our  Baptist  fathers  believed  in  the  fall  of  man  from 
his  first  estate  of  innocence  and  purity  into  a  state  of 
moral  guilt  and  pollution,  and  they  believed  that  the 
effect  of  this  fall  of  our  first  parents,  from  innocence 
to  a  state  of  guilt,  was  transmitted  to  their  posterity  to 
such  an  extent  that  every  human  being  comes  into  the 
world  with  a  proclivity  to  moral  evil  so  intense  that  he 
inevitably  falls  into  transgression  and  sin.  This  pro- 
clivity to  moral  evil  is  what  we  call  human  depravity. 

Our  fathers  believed  in  this  depravity.  They  some- 
times called  it  "total  depravity,"  and  for  doing  so  they 
were  often  severely  criticized,  and  even  ridiculed,  by 
their  opponents.  Well,  it  is  needless,  at  this  late  day, 
to  discuss  the  propriety  or  impropriety  of  qualifying 
depravity  with  the  word  total.  It  is  better,  far  better, 
to  notice  what  the  Scriptures  say  about  it.  We  learn 
from  them  that  the  human  heart  is  "desperately 
wicked,"  that  "the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God : 
for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed 
can  be,"  and  that  men,  by  nature,  are  "dead  in  tres- 
passes and  in  sins."  Such  are  the  terms  in  which 
man's  moral  condition  is  described  in  the  Bible.  It  is 
certainly  a  condition  of  depravity  so  deep  that  the  sin- 
ner, if  left  to  himself,  is.  and  must  be,  inevitably  lost. 
And  this  is  the  depravity  in  which  our  early  Baptists 
believed. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  225 

The  doctrine  of  human  depravity  renders  it  logically 
necessary  that  the  sinner,  if  he  is  ever  saved,  must  be 
"born  again."  Simple  as  this  proposition  is,  there  are 
thousands,  even  of  cultivated  minds,  who  ignore  the 
new  birth.  Nicodemus  was  one  of  this  class.  When, 
in  John  iii.  3,  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Except  a  man  be 
bom  again,  he  can  not  see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  he 
did  not  know  what  the  Savior  meant.  But  our  Bap- 
tist fathers  had  sense  enough  to  see  the  necessity  of 
the  new  birth.  They  knew  that  the  sinner,  being  at 
•enmity  with  God,  not  subject  to  his  law  but  dead  in 
trespasses  and  in  sins  must  forever  perish,  unless  he 
could  be  brought,  somehow,  into  a  new  condition  of 
life.  By  their  confidence  in  the  teachings  of  the  Scrip- 
tures they  were  able  to  discover  that  the  "new  birth" 
which  Jesus  taught  to  Nicodemus  metaphorically  rep- 
resents this  coming  into  a  new  condition  of  life,  and 
this  they  had  realized  in  their  own  Christian  ex- 
periences. 

Their  first  condition  of  life,  into  which  they  had 
come  by  a  literal  and  natural  birth,  was  a  condition  of 
deep  moral  depravity.  They  did  not  love  God,  nor 
did  they  desire  a  knowledge  of  his  ways.  They  were 
willing  to  be  worldly-minded,  hard-hearted  and  im- 
penitent, and  were,  perhaps,  indulging  in  many  practi- 
cal sins.  And  such  was  the  degree  of  depravity  that, 
if  left  to  themselves,  they  would  have  chosen  to  live 
and  die  in  that  sad  condition. 

But  it  came  to  pass  that  they  were  brought  within 
the  reach  of  the  preached  gospel,  and  by  its  instru- 
mentality, under  tlie  direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
they  were  brought  through  the  successive  steps  of  the 
Christian's   experience   into   a   new   condition   of   life. 


226  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Now  this  coming  into  a  new  condition  of  life  is  just 
what  the  Savior  meant  when  he  said :  "Except  a  man 
be  born  again  he  can  not  see  the  kingdom  of  God.'" 

Notice  the  word  "again."  It  is  represented  in  the- 
Greek  by  the  word  "anothen."  It  has  three  meanings : 
viz.,  again,  anew,  from  above.  It  is  interesting  to 
notice  that  each  one  of  these  meanings  will  translate 
the  word  "anothen"  so  as  to  yield  a  good  sense.  If  we 
say  a  man  is  born  again,  it  means  that  he  had  been 
born  before  and  is  now  born  a  second  time.  Well, 
that  is  true  of  the  Christian,  for  he  was  first  born  intO' 
his  natural  life  and  afterwards  into  his  spiritual  life. 
If  we  say  that  a  man  is  born  anew,  it  means  that  he- 
has  left  his  old  life  and  come  into  one  that  is  new  and 
fresh.  This  also  is  verified  in  the  experience  of  the 
Christian.  For  of  him  it  is  written :  "Old  things  have 
passed  away,  and  all  things  have  become  new."  And 
in  the  third  place,  if  we  say  a  man  is  born  from  above, 
the  phrase  is  used  figuratively  to  denote  that  he  is 
born  of  God.  And  this,  too,  is  confirmed  by  other 
Scriptures ;  for  we  learn  that  believers  are  bom,  *'not 
of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will 
of  man,  but  of  God."  And  again,  it  is  said:  "Of  his 
own  will  begat  he  us,  by  the  word  of  truth."  There- 
fore to  be  born  from  above,  as  already  stated,  is  to  be 
born  of  God. 

The  nature  of  the  new  birth  is  still  more  fully  ex- 
pressed, and  yet  on  the  same  line  of  thought,  in  the 
fifth  verse  of  the  same  chapter :  "Verily,  verilv,  I  say 
unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  can  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."' 
When  the  metaphorical  terms  of  this  text  are  cor- 
rectly interpreted  the  meaning  of  the  Savior's  words- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  227 

may  be  expressed  in  plain  language  thus :  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  brought  into 
life  (which  is  to  be  born)  through  the  instrumentality 
of  divine  truth  (often  represented  in  the  Scriptures  by 
water)  and  by  the  direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he 
can  not  enter  into  the  place  where  God  reigns. 

This  paraphrase  is  in  harmony  with  Dr.  J.  L.  Dagg's 
interpretation  of  the  text,  and  fully  sustains  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  definition  of  the  new  birth.  I  have  not 
his  definition  before  me,  but  it  is  to  this  effect,  that  the 
new  birth  denotes  a  great  moral  change  of  a  sinner's 
affections  towards  God,  analogous  to  a  coming  into  a 
new  life,  of  which  God  is  the  author,  and  whose  mani- 
festations are  found  in  the  sinner's  desire  to  glorify 
God  and  to  obey  his  commandments.  This  change  is 
sometimes  called  a  conversion,  sometimes  a  change  of 
heart,  and  sometimes  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  new  creation. 

Our  Baptist  fathers  believed  with  all  their  hearts  in 
the  necessity  of  this  great  moral  change  in  the  heart 
and  life  of  the  sinner  before  he  could  be  prepared  for 
heaven.  And  to  describe  its  process  through  all  the 
stages  of  the  Christian's  experience  engaged  a  large 
proportion  of  their  conversation  and  their  preaching. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  long  on  the  new  birth  because  of 
its  transcendent  importance.  It  is  one  of  the  dis- 
tinctive doctrines  of  Christianity  that  separates  it,  by 
an  immeasurable  distance,  from  every  other  religion 
on  this  globe.  And  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  two- 
thirds  of  all  Christendom  have  for  many  centuries  so 
merged  it  in  water  baptism  that  they  have  nothing  left 
of  the  grand  idea  save  a  fruitless  ceremony  of  their 
own  invention.  The  baptismal  font,  and  that  for  un- 
conscious babes,  is  made  to  do  the  work  of  regenera- 
tion. 

16 


228  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Only  a  few  religious  denominations  of  the  present 
day  stand  for  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth  as  it  was 
taught  by  Jesus  and  his  inspired  apostles.  But  our 
Baptist  fathers  stood  for  it  with  unwavering  fidelity. 
They  found  it  in  the  words  of  Christ  and  they  found 
his  words  illustrated  in  their  own  happy  experiences. 

Now,  beloved  brethren  of  the  present  day,  let  me 
close  this  paper  with  a  word  to  you.  You  have  suc- 
ceeded to  the  responsibilities  of  your  fathers.  That 
you  are  spiritually  and  denominationally  so  prosperous 
is  because  they  were  so  faithful.  True,  they  were  not 
perfect,  they  made  some  mistakes  and  held  some  queer 
notions  but,  for  all  that,  they  did  contend  earnestly  for 
the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints,  and 
especially  did  they  teach  with  all  their  hearts  that 

"The  sinner  must  be  born  again, 
■  Or  sink  in  endless  woe." 

Let  your  choruses  sound  aloud  this  awful  refrain 
till  every  soul  shall  hear  it. 

Election  was  also  a  cardinal  point  in  the  faith  of  our 
fathers,  and  their  preachers  gave  it  conspicuous,  place 
in  their  sermons.  They  believed  that  God  knew  from 
the  beginning  who  would  be  saved.  And  then  they  be^ 
lieved  that  no  sinner,  if  left  to  himself,  would  ever  re- 
pent towards  God  and  believe  in  Christ,  inasmuch  as 
he  is  by  nature  "at  enmity  with  God,  not  subject  to  his 
law,  neither  indeed  can  be."  Putting  these  ideas  to- 
gether, our  fathers  were  able  to  see  that  whoever  is 
saved  must  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind,  that 
is,  he  must  be  quickened  into  spiritual  life,  by  the 
direct  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  other  words,  no 
man  can  be  saved  without  that  great  moral   change 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  229 

called  the  new  birth,  of  which  God  is  the  author.  And 
in  every  new  birth  God  must  take  the  initiative  step. 
He  must,  of  bis  own  will,  beget  the  sinner'  by  his  word 
of  truth  (see  James  i.  18).  Each  case  is  of  his  own 
will,  which  means  of  his  own  choice.  When  did  God 
make  choice  of  this  or  that  sinner  as  a  subject  of  his 
saving  power?  Surely  his  choice,  or  election,  must 
be  as  old  as  his  foreknowledge.  Therefore  the  election 
must  have  been  before  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

The  doctrine  of  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints 
is  a  logical  sequence  of  the  doctrine  of  election,  so 
closely  connected  with  it  that  to  accept  one  is  tO'  accept 
the  other.  Those  good  people  of  whom  I  am  writing 
believed  in  it,  of  course.  They  called  it  the  ''final  per- 
severance of  the  saints."  And  to  this  day  our  Baptist 
folks  are  accustomed  to  use  the  same  phrase.  But  it 
is  not  accurate,  and,  moreover,  it  puts  a  weapon  into 
the  hands  of  our  opponents.  They  sometimes  point  to 
some  backslider  among  us  and  tauntingly  ask :  "What 
has  become  of  his  perseverance?"  The  question  is  hard 
to  answer. 

The  truth  is,  the  phrase  does  not  express  exactly 
what  it  is  used  to  express.  The  thing  which  our 
fathers  believed  in,  and  which  is  so  closely  connected 
with  election,  was  the  doctrine  of  the  final  preserva- 
tion of  the  saints.  This  mode  of  expressing  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  saint's  salvation  clearly  suggests  the  di- 
vine power  by  which  it  is  accomplished.  For  we  read 
that  the  saint  is  "kept  by  the  power  of  God  through 
faith,  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time."  This  is  by  far  a  much  safer  reliance  than  can 
be  found  in  the  perseverance  of  the  individual. 

Our  fathers  gained  great  comfort  from  these  doc- 


230  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

trines.  Think  for  a  moment  what  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion means.  It  means  the  certain  salvation  if  a  multi- 
tude whom  no  man  can  number.  Remember,  without 
election  ho  one  of  Adam's  apostate  race  would  have 
been  saved,  for  the  whole  race  w^as  dead  in  tresspasses 
and  in  sins,  and  under  sentence  of  condemnation.  But 
God  was  moved  with  compassion  for  the  lost  race.  Out 
of  that  compassion  arose  the  great  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion by  which  he  could  offer  free  salvation  to  all  who 
would  accept  it.  But  none  would  accept  it.  Here  oc- 
curred the  gravest  problem  in  the  counsels  of  the  God- 
head that  can  be  found,  perhaps,  in  all  the  annals  of 
eternity.  It  was  the  election  that  solved  this  mighty 
problem.  God,  in  the  exercise  of  his  infinite  sover- 
eignty, chose  whom  he  would  have  to  be  saved.  These 
are  the  people  whom  he  foreknew,  "^whom  he  did  pre- 
destinate to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son," 
And  these  are  the  people  whom,  in  the  course  of  time, 
he  has  been  effectually  calling  and  sanctifying  and 
glorifying  (Rom.  viii.  29,  30). 

But  for  this  electing  grace,  not  one  sinner  would 
have  been  saved ;  for  such  is  the  depravity  of  human 
nature  that  if  left  to  himself  the  sinner  would  not  ac- 
cept the  gospel  and  Christ  would  have  died  in  vain. 
But  God,  in  foretelling  the  mission  of  his  Son,  has  al- 
ready declared,  by  the  lips  of  his  prophet  Isaiah,  that 
the  great  Messiah  should  ''see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul 
and  be  satisfied,"  which  means  that  he  should  not  die 
in  vain. 

To  this  divine  purpose  the  Savior  himself  alludes. 
He  says  to  the  unbelieving  multitude  around  him,  "All 
that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  unto  me,  and  him 
that  Cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  nowise  cast  out."  These 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  231 

words  mean  that  Jesus  knew  that  he  had  a  people  se- 
cured to  him,  by  the  gift  of  the  Father,  whose  salva- 
tion was  assured.  Therefore,  Jesus  knew  that  he 
should  not  die  in  vain — that  his  blood  should  redeem 
such  a  multitude  of  the  lost  as  to  satisfy  the  travail 
of  his  soul. 

Such  were  the  doctrines  that  our  fathers  loved.  They 
found  in  them  streams  of  living  water  flowing  from 
the  "smitten  Rock"  that  cheered  and  comforted  them. 
They  were  able  to  see  that  the  powers  of  darkness 
might  mass  their  forces  round  the  globe,  but  they  could 
never  separate  the  elect  of  God  from  his  eternal  love 
(see  Romans  viii.  38,  39). 

In  treating  of  the  doctrinal  views  of  the  old-time 
churches,  I  have  thus  far  confined  myself  to  those  ele- 
ments of  faith  for  which  they  were  generally  distin- 
guished. Thus  far  I  have  presented  them  as  beacon- 
lights  of  orthodoxy  to  which  the  churches  of  to-day 
would  do  well  to  give  good  heed.  And  just  here  I 
would  gladly  stop.  But  it  may  be  useful  to  notice 
briefly  what  may  be  called  the  other  side. 

While  our  early  Baptists  believed,  with  great  har- 
mony, in  all  the  'doctrines  of  grace,"  as  they  were 
often  called,  yet  this  common  faith  did  not  bring  forth 
in  all  exactly  the  same  fruit.  The  efifect  of  that  faith 
on  some  minds  was  to  make  them  willing  to  live,  not 
for  themselves,  but  for  Him  who  died  for  them  and 
rose  again.  Some  reasoned,  perhaps,  in  this  way :  I 
was  a  lost  sinner,  so  completely  in  bondage  to  a  de- 
praved nature  that  if  I  had  been  left  to  myself  I 
should  have  certainly  perished,  but  God,  for  the  great 
love  wherewith  he  loved  me,  quickened  my  soul  into 
spiritual  life    that  I  might  believe  and  be  saved.    The 


232  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

idea  that  that  love  was  from  the  beginning  only  inten- 
sified its  force.  All  who  reasoned  thus  were  ready  to 
engage  in  every  good  work  that  promised  glory  to  God 
or  good  to  man.  When,  therefore,  the  great  mission- 
ary enterprise  burst  upon  them,  they  were  prepared  to 
meet  it.  They  knew  that  Christ  has  a  people  by  the 
gift  of  the  Father  who  shall  come  to  him  and  be 
saved,  but  they  knew  also  that  the  gospel  is  the  or- 
dained instrumentality  whereby  the  elect  are  to  be 
gathered  unto  Christ.  And,  therefore,  they  were  called 
"Alissionary  Baptists." 

But  all  did  not  reason  thus.  Their  argument  was 
about  this :  God's  purposes  are  fixed  and  immutable. 
Therefore  the  salvation  of  his  elect  is  certain  and  man 
has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Here  was  a  most  hurtful 
perversion  of  the  doctrines  of  grace.  Those  who  held 
to  it  were  called  anti-missionaries.  But  their  opposi- 
tion did  not  stop  at  missions.  They  denounced  Sun- 
day-schools, temperance  societies,  and  all  efforts  that 
aimed  to  give  a  better  education  to  our  ministry. 

The  history  of  this  sad  division  among  our  fathers 
is  too  well  known  to  need  recital  here.  We  rejoice  to 
know  that  it  has  well-nigh  passed  aawy.  Our  church 
polity  allows  to  every  church  absolute  independence. 
Therefore,  as  our  churches  grew  more  enlightened,  one 
by  one,  or  in  groups,  they  became  missionaries  and 
without  a  shock  transferred  themselves  from  the  one 
body  to  the  other.  This  process  is  still  going  on,  and 
the  Georgia  Baptists  are  rapidly  becoming  again  one 
people. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONCLUSION    OF    THE    REMINISCENCES    PUBLISHED    BE- 
TWEEN THE  DATES,  AUGUST   1 3,   1896,  AND 
JULY  29,    1897. 

[a   BRIEF   NOTICE  OF   MANY  GREAT   NAMES.] 

The  time  has  come  to  close  my  reminiscences  of 
Georgia  Baptists.  While  engaged  in  this  work,  my 
mind  has  lingered  lovingly  upon  scenes  of  my  early 
and  middle  life.  It  is  to  me  a  matter  of  thanksgiving 
to  God  that  I  was  permitted  to  share  the  social  friend- 
ship, the  Christian  fellowship,  and,  in  some  humble 
measure,  the  pious  labors  of  so  many  great  and  noble 
people. 

The  persons  of  whom  I  have  written  do  not  exhaust 
the  list  of  those  whom  I  have  known  and  loved.  There 
are  other  names  full  worthy  to  be  remembered  for 
their  work's  sake.  But  they  have  so  recently  passed 
away  that  their  lives  and  their  labors  are  still  fresh  in 
the  memories  of  their  brethren.  For  this  reason  it  is 
hardly  needful  to  write  of  them  now.  Twenty  years 
from  this  time,  some  one  of  the  contemporaries  may  be 
still  living  who  would  find  it  a  pleasant  and  profitable 
task  to  furnish  the  Index  of  that  day  with  reminis- 
cences of  his  companions  during  the  last  three  decades 
of  the  present  century.  Such  reminiscences,  I  think, 
would  be  far  more  useful  to  that  generation  than  they 
would  be  to  the  present  generation.  And  yet  I  feel 
reluctant  to  pass  them  all  by  entirely  unnoticed.  I  pro- 
pose, therefore,  to  make  mention  of  at  least  some  of 
them.     I  will  begin  with  our  beloved  brother, 

233 


234  Reuiiniscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

William  H.  Mcintosh. 

His  ancestors  came  from  Scotland  to  Georgia  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Oglethorpe.  Mcintosh  County  was 
named  after  one  of  that  family,  and  in  that  county  our 
brother  was  born,  in  1811.  Were  he  living  now  he 
would  be  eighty-six  years  old.  He  was  ordained  in 
1836,  and  was  a  devoted  and  able  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel for  nearly,  if  not  quite,  fifty  years.  My  acquaint- 
ance with  him  began  in  1832,  in  Sunbury,  Georgia.  He 
was  then  a  young  man,  and  was  preparing  himself  to 
go  to  the  seminary  in  South  Carolina,  then  under  the 
charge  of  Dr.  Samuel  Furman.  After  his  ordination  he 
labored  first  on  the  seaboard  of  Georgia  about  eleven 
years.  He  was  then  called  to  Eufaula,  and  afterwards 
to  Marion,  in  Alabama,  in  which  State  he  spent  many 
years  of  his  useful  life.  At  length,  however,  he  re- 
turned to  Georgia,  was  pastor  for  several  years  of  the 
First  Baptist  church  in  Macon,  and  afterwards  was  ap- 
pointed by  our  State  Board  to  hold  meetings  for  the 
instruction  of  the  colored  ministers.  He  died  early  in 
the  eighties,  crowned  with  the  respect  and  love  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

Charles  Mercer  Irvin. 

Here  is  another  brother  whose  name  is  known  well 
in  Georgia — a  household  word  in  perhaps  a  thousand 
homes.  He  was  the  son  of  parents  who  were  in  easy 
circumstances  and  able  to  give  him  a  good  education. 
And  it  is  said  that  his  pious  mother  even  from  his 
cradle  had  devoted  him  to  God  and  prayed  that  he 
might  become  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Her  prayers 
were  answered,  and  in  his  early  manhood  he  was  or- 
dained to  the  ministry.     Passing  by  all  the  details  of 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  235 

his  life  history,  I  would  notice  only  his  wonderful 
ability  as  a  pastor.  In  this  sacred  office  he  had  no  su- 
perior and  few  equals.  His  easy  and  unaffected  yet 
graceful  manners,  dominated  by  sincere  sympathy  and 
Christian  gentleness,  qualified  him  to  be  a  welcome 
visitor  in  every  household.  The  rich  found  in  him  an 
equal  whom  they  could  honor,  and  the  poor  found  in 
him  a  friend  whom  they  could  trust  and  love.  With 
such  qualities  he  mingled  freely  with  his  people.  With 
him  his  pastoral  visits  were  second  only  to  the  claims 
of  the  pulpit.  Hence  he  needed  no  artificial  con- 
trivances to  draw  an  audience,  for  all  classes  of  peo- 
ple loved  him,  and  his  public  services  were  well  at- 
tended. The  secret  of  his  success  was  found  in  his 
loving  visits  to  his  people.  He  was  often  in  their 
homes.  His  example  is  one  that  our  living  pastors 
would  do  well  to  follow. 

J  allies  H.  DeVofie. 
Here  is  another  of  my  own  contemporaries.  He  and 
I  entered  the  ministry  about  the  same  time.  It  is  true 
he  came  into  Georgia  rather  late  in  life,  but  he  stayed 
with  us  long  enough  to  become  identified  with  our 
people.  There  were  very  few  better  preachers  than 
Brother  DeVotie.  He  soon  won  the  admiration  and 
love  of  his  Georgia  brethren,  and  they  delighted  to 
honor  him.  My  acquaintance  with  him  began  in 
1837,  and  our  relations  to  each  other  were  of  the  most 
pleasant  character.  After  holding  several  important 
pastorates,  he  was  at  length  made  corresponding  sec- 
retary of  our  State  Board  of  Missions,  which  position 
he  held,  I  think,  till  his  death.  His  faithful  labors  in 
that  work  were  of  great  value  to  many  destitute  lo- 
calities.   It  is  but  a  few  years  since  he  fell  asleep. 


236  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Charles  H.  Stilkvell. 

Here  is  still  another  preacher  who  in  the  order  of 
time  may  be  grouped  with  Mcintosh,  Irwin,  Mell, 
DeVotie  and  myself.  Brother  Stillwell,  however,  was 
a  little  older  than  any  of  the  group  mentioned.  He 
was  born  in  1806,  and  ordained  in  1837.  He  labored 
with  great  faithfulness  in  the  ministry  for  about  fifty 
years.  He  filled  many  pastorates.  Among  these,  per- 
haps the  most  important  one  was  his  pastorate  of  the 
First  Baptist  church  of  Rome.  Brother  Stillwell  was 
a  most  excellent  man  and  devoted  Christian  and  an 
earnest  preacher.  I  was  his  successor  at  Rome,  in 
1856,  but  his  membership  remained  with  the  church 
which  he  had  so  long  served.  This  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  know  him  intimately.  I  learned  to  love  him, 
and  I  think  I  loved  him  with  a  feeling  that  was  dififer- 
ent  from  any  mere  human  affection.  I  loved  him  be- 
cause I  could  see  Jesus  in  him.  He  was  not  a  rich  or 
learned  man,  and  yet  the  "bright  and  morning  star" 
shined  through  his  life  with  its  mild  splendor  upon  the 
moral  darkness  around  him.  If  such  a  thing  be  possi- 
ble here  on  earth,  he  was  one  who  had  already  washed 
his  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb. 

The  Mercer  Men. 

Passing  by  for  want  of  space  many  precious  names, 
I  propose  to  notice  a  few  (I  can  only  mention  a  few) 
Mercer  men.  I  remember  W.  D.  Atkinson,  John 
Green,  J.  G.  Ryals,  W.  L.  Kilpatrick,  William  H. 
Davis,  E.  A.  Steed,  Earle,  H.  H.  Tucker,  J.  F.  Dagg, 
F.  M.  Swanson,  G.  R.  McCall,  Moses  McCall,  Sam- 
uel Burney,  and  perhaps  several  others.     These  were 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  237 

all  at  Penfield  during  my  connection  with  the  college. 
Doctor  Tucker  and  Rev.  J.  F.  Dagg  were  there  as  the- 
ological students,  having  graduated  elsewhere  before 
they  came.  Brother  Earle  and  Brother  Swanson  were 
also  only  theological  students.  The  others  were  in  the 
literary  department. 

As  we  look  at  the  names  above  recorded,  it  is  sad 
to  think  that  they  have  all  passed  away.  But  it  is  a 
great  comfort  to  know  that  they  all  lived  to  do  a  good 
work  before  the  Master  called  them.  Mercer  has  sent 
out  from  her  halls  many  ministers,  and  those  who  still 
survive  may  find  in  the  lives  of  their  departed  com- 
rades an  inspiration  to  intensify  their  zeal.  Some  of 
the  group  lived  to  be  old  men.  Doctor  Tucker  was 
perhaps  the  oldest.  All  are  acquainted  with  his  bril- 
liant career  and  his  noble  character.  He  was  first  a 
student,  then  a  professor,  and  then  the  president  of 
Mercer  University,  and  afterwards  chancellor  of  the 
State  University,  all  in  one  lifetime.  But,  after  all, 
his  best  work  was  the  book  he  left  behind  him.  His 
book,  "The  Old  Theology  Restated,"  is  indeed  a  rich 
legacy  to  his  brethren  in  Georgia. 

Brother  J.  F.  Dagg's  career,  though  less  conspicu- 
ous, was  perhaps  no  less  useful.  His  pure  and  holy 
life  was  a  bright  example  to  all  who  knew  him.  While 
his  labors  as  an  educator  were  preparing  hundreds  of 
the  young  for  the  serious  business  of  life,  he  was  not 
unmindful  to  point  their  way  to  Jesus  and  heaven. 
James  G.  Ryals. 

He  graduated  with  the  first  honor  in  the  class  of 
185 1.  While  in  college  he  was  not  a  member  of  the 
church,  but  his  correct  and  upright  deportment  com- 
manded the  respect  of  the  faculty  and  of  his  fellow 


238  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

students.  In  a  few  years,  however,  he  was  baptized 
and  soon  became  a  preacher.  He  was  pastor  of  several 
churches  in  Bartow  County.  He  was  an  able  and 
learned  preacher,  and  was  a  man  of  great  force  of 
character,  and  hence  wielded  wide  influence  among 
his  brethren.  He  was  finally  elected  to  the  chair  of 
theology  in  his  own  alma  mater.  This  position  he 
held  with  distinguished  ability  till  his  health  failed. 
He  passed  away  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  and  of 
his  wide-spread  popularity. 

E.  A.  Steed. 

Here  we  have  another  distinguished  member  of  the 
class  of  185 1.  Like  Brother  Ryals,  he  did  not  join 
the  church  till  after  he  graduated.  He  was  a  bright 
young  man,  stood  high  in  his  class,  and  was  a  pleas- 
ant, genial  companion.  Not  long  after  he  graduated 
he  was  baptized  and  finally  was  ordained.  He  served 
several  churches  in  Columbia,  his  native  county,  till 
he  was  made  a  professor  in  Mercer  University,  which 
post  he  filled  with  distinction  till  he  died. 

W.  L.  Kilpatrick. 

Doctor  Kilpatrick  was  a  church  member  while  in 
college,  and  he  was  in  sympathy  with  all  the  pious  stu- 
dents. His  standing  in  his  class  was  high,  and  he  grad- 
uated with  the  first  honor.  His  work  was  chiefly 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Hephzibah  and  adjacent  as- 
sociations. He  rose  to  eminence  as  a  preacher  and  a 
pastor,  his  labors  extending  through  nearly  forty 
years.  He  was  for  a  long  time  president  of  Mercer's 
Board  of  Trustees,  and  few  men  had,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  a  stronger  hold  upon  his  brethren  than  he.  His 
recent  death  filled  all  our  hearts  with  sorrow. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  339 

W.  H.  Davis. 

Brother  Davis  and  Doctor  Kilpatrick  were  in  college 
together,  and  in  their  subsequent  lives  they  were  not 
separated.  They  worked  together  for  years  on  the 
same  field.  Brother  Davis  was  an  able  preacher  and  a 
successful  pastor.  He  died  several  years  before  his 
friend  and  brother. 

I  wish  I  had  space  to  notice  every  one  in  the  group 
above  mentioned.  I  loved  them  all,  and  especially 
those  that  were  for  a  time  under  my  own  instruction. 
Indeed,  I  rejoice  in  having  had  some  part  in  the  train- 
ing of  such  men  as  Ryals,  Kilpatrick,  and  all  the  rest 
of  the  noble  dead  who  were  in  my  class. 

I  now  propose  to  speak  of  some  Mercer  men  of  ear- 
lier date.  As  early  as  1833  or  1834,  young  men  were 
at  Mercer  Institute  preparing  for  the  ministry.  Many 
of  them,  I  hope,  are  still  living.  Of  those  that  have 
died  I  will  mention  a  few  names. 

T.  U.  Wilkes. 

This  brother  was  one  of  the  first  to  receive  his  prepa- 
ration for  the  ministry  at  the  Mercer  Institute.  He 
entered  as  early  as  1833  or  1834.  His  first  work  after 
leaving  the  Institute  was  to  serve  as  missionary  in  the 
Central  Association.  He  afterwards  was  pastor  of 
the  churches  in  Eatonton,  Social  Circle,  and  Atlanta. 
As  a  preacher  he  was  earnest  and  persuasive.  He  was 
successful  in  strengthening  and  building  up  his 
churches,  and  his  brethren  esteemed  him  highly  for 
his  work's  sake.  In  1861  he  removed  with  his  family 
to  Arkansas,  where  he  lived  and  labored  with  great 
zeal  until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
about  fifty-four  years  of  age. 


240  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

William  Clay  Wilkes. 

This  brother  graduated  at  Mercer  University  in 
1843.  He  was,  I  think,  a  near  relative  of  Rev.  T.  U. 
Wilkes.  His  father,  with  his  family,  came  into  Geor- 
gia in  1829,  when  William  was  about  ten  years  old, 
and  settled  in  Eatonton.  There  the  lad  grew  up  to  be 
a  young  man.  In  1838,  when  about  nineteen  years 
old,  he  was  baptized  by  Dr.  J.  E.  Dawson.  In  telling 
his  experience,  he  is  reported  as  dating  his  conversion 
in  his  early  boyhood  when  only  seven  years  of  age. 
From  that  time  he  led  a  life  of  prayer,  and  he  would 
pray  in  public,  sometimes,  before  he  was  baptized.  He 
was  early  impressed  with  a  belief  that  he  ought  to 
preach.  To  this  end,  he  was  anxious  to  obtain  an  edu- 
cation, and  finally  was  able  to  graduate.  His  life  was 
a  very  useful  one,  both  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and 
as  an  educator.  He  presided  sixteen  years,  with  great 
success,  over  Monroe  Female  College.  He  founded, 
afterwards  Spalding  Seminary,  near  Montezuma, 
Georgia,  and  still  later,  the  Georgia  Baptist  College  at 
Gainesville.  While  thus  doing  so  much  as  an  educator, 
he  was  not  unmindful  of  his  ministerial  work.  He 
was  teaching  and  serving  churches  in  every  section 
where  he  lived.  These  labors  he  continued  till  his 
death.     For  usefulness  his  life  was  a  success. 

/.  R.  Branham. 
Brother  Branham  was  the  grandson  of  Deacon 
Thomas  Cooper,  of  whom  I  have  written.  He  was  for 
a  time  a  student  of  Mercer  University,  and  was  bap- 
tized at  Penfield.  He  graduated,  however,  at  Emory 
College,  in  1847.  But  he  held  firmly  to  his  Baptist 
faith  and  became  a  successful  teacher  and   an  able 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  341 

minister.  His  private  life  was  most  lovely.  He  con- 
tinued nearly  forty  years  in  active  service.  At  length 
his  deafness  and  painful  bodily  afflictions  compelled 
him  to  give  up  regular  work.  He  lived  with  his 
daughter  and  his  son-in-law,  Prof.  Charles  Lane,  the 
last  few  years  of  his  life,  which  ended,  I  think,  in  the 
summer  of  1896.  All  who  knew  him  loved  him. 
Sylvamis  Landrimi. 

Brother  Landrum  graduated  at  Mercer  University 
in  1846.  In  October,  of  the  same  year  he  was  ordained 
to  the  ministry,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  following 
year,  1847,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church 
in  Athens.  From  that  time  commenced  his  life  work, 
and  he  adhered  to  it  with  a  fidelity  and  zeal  that  well 
deserved  the  admiration  of  his  brethren. 

Brother  Landrum's  life  was  signalized  by  great  suc- 
cess in  all  his  fields  of  labor.  His  people  loved  him  and 
his  churches  grew  in  numbers  and  in  usefulness.  But 
though  his  life  was  crowned  with  brilliant  success,  it 
was  not  without  its  shadows.  He  was  called  to  pass 
through  waters  of  deep  affliction.  His  first  wife  lived 
with  him  only  four  years,  and  then  she  was  taken  home 
to  the  heavenly  mansions.  I  knew  her  well.  She  was 
Miss  Naomi  Lumpkin.  She  graduated  at  the  Girls' 
High  School  at  Penfield  in  1845,  while  I  was  its  prin- 
cipal. 

His  second  wife  was  Miss  Eliza  J,  Warren,  daugh- 
ter of  General  Eli  Warren,  of  Perry,  Georgia.  She 
too,  proved  to  be  pre-eminently  a  helpmeet  for  her 
noble  husband.  Years  passed  on.  Five  sons  and  a 
daughter  gave  to  their  home  a  happy  family.  But  in 
the  year  1878,  the  dread  demon  of  the  swamp — yellow 
fever — invaded  Memphis.    Brother  Landrum  was  then 


342  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

pastor  of  the  Central  Baptist  church  of  that  city. 
Thousands  fled  to  escape  the  epidemic.  Brother  Lan- 
drum  would  not  leave  his  people  at  a  time  when  more 
than  all  other  times  they  would  need  the  consolation  he 
might  be  able  to  give  them.  The  older  sons  might 
have  escaped,  but  they  would  not  leave  their  father, 
nor  would  the  noble  wife  forsake  her  husband.  So 
they  all  heroically  stood  their  ground  amidst  the  fear- 
ful ravages  of  the  plague.  The  result  was  that  our 
Brother  Landrum  was  bereaved  of  his  two  older  sons 
in  the  bloom  of  their  young  manhood,  while  he  himself 
and,  if  I  mistake  not,  his  wife  also  were  stricken  with 
the  same  dangerous  malady.  True,  they  recovered, 
but  they  recovered  to  weep  over  their  lost  loved  ones. 

Brother  Landrum  lived  to  return,  for  a  time,  to  his 
beloved  people  in  Savannah.  But  his  last  pastorate 
was  with  the  Coliseum  Baptist  church  in  New  Orleans. 
It  was  not  long  before  he  passed  away.  His  wife  still 
survives  him,  and  is  now  living  with  her  son.  Dr.  W. 
W.  Landrum,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  At- 
lanta. 

It  seemed  to  me  to  be  appropriate  thus  to  mention, 
even  briefly,  Mercer's  sainted  dead,  for  while  thej 
lived  they  honored  their  alma  mater. 

There  are  scores  of  brethren  whom  I  hold  in  remem- 
brance but  for  whom  I  have  not  found  room.  I  would 
like  to  tell  the  story  of  Rev.  V.  R.  Thornton.  Wild 
in  his  youth,  a  trophy  of  divine  grace  in  his  early  man- 
hood, and  through  life  a  noble  preacher,  he  was  identi- 
fied with  the  fathers  in  all  their  works.  Then  I  could 
speak  of  the  beloved  Warren,  whose  praise  is  in  all 
the  churches,  and  whose  name  is  an  inspiration  to  all 
surviving  preachers  who  have  had  the   privilege   of 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  243 

knowing  him.  I  also  call  to  mind  our  brother  H.  C. 
Hornady  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  our  Atlanta 
brethren,  and  so  dearly  loved  by  all  who  knew  him. 
Nor  can  I  forget  Brother  G.  F.  Cooper  and  Brother 
Thomas  Muse,  who  were  for  so  many  years  as  beacon- 
lights  over  all  Southwestern  Georgia. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Reminiscences   Not   Included  in   the   Foregoing 
Series. 


section  one. 
merrill  p.  callaway. 

Brother  Callaway  died  on  the  27th  of  October, 
1897,  nearly  three  months  after  I  had  closed  my  rem- 
iniscences of  Georgia  Baptists.  Hence  his  name  does 
not  appear  in  those  articles.  But  his  long  and  useful 
life  deserves  to  be  remembered. 

He  was  born  in  Wilkes  County,  Georgia,  on  the 
23d  of  April,  1814.  He  was  therefore  eighty-three 
years,  five  months,  and  four  days  old  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  His  father  was  Mr.  Isaac  Callaway.  His  mother 
was  a  Miss  Barnett,  and  he  was  connected  also  with 
the  Toombs  family.  These  were  all  prominent  cit- 
izens of  Wilkes  County. 

Brother  Callaway  was  baptized  in  early  life  by  Rev. 
Enoch  Callaway,  pastor  of  Sardis  church  for  many 
years  of  his  useful  life.  It  was  not  very  long  after 
Brother  Callaway's  baptism  before  he  became  inter- 
ested in  the  religious  movements  of  the  denomination. 
In  due  time  he  married  his  first  wife,  and  they  not 
long  afterwards  made  Washington  their  place  of  resi- 
dence. A  reminiscence  of  Mr.  Callaway  would  be  in- 
complete if  it  did  not  include  also  a  reminiscence  of 
his  noble  wife;  for  they  were  one,  not  only  by  the  ties 

244 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  245 

of  wedlock,  but  also  by  the  ties  of  Christian  fellowship 
in  religious  work. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  Isaiah  Tucker  Irvin,  and 
sister  of  Rev.  C.  M.  Irvin  and  of  Hon.  Isaiah  T.  Ir- 
vin (named  after  his  father),  who  was  the  speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  when  the  war  broke  out. 
It  may  be  well  to  notice  that  he  had  decided  to  enter 
the  Confederate  army.  But  before  he  could  do  so,  he 
went  to  Texas  to  arrange  some  important  business  in 
which  he  was  interested.  While  in  Texas,  having  oc- 
casion to  cross  one  of  its  rivers,  by  some  mischance  he 
was  drowned,  and  thus  his  services  were  lost  to  his 
country.  I  well  remember  when  the  news  of  his  un- 
timely death  came  to  Georgia  and  what  a  gloom  of 
sorrow  it  occasioned  among  his  kindred  and  his  ad- 
mirers. 

Mrs.  Callaway  was  educated  at  Powellton,  under 
the  instruction  of  Rev.  Otis  Smith,  who  afterwards 
was  president  for  a  short  time  of  Mercer  University. 
She  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Enoch  Callaway  into  Sardis 
church,  Wilkes  county.  I  learn  from  her  son,  who, 
of  course,  obtained  the  information  from  his  mother, 
that  when  she  was  baptized  the  ice  had  to  be  broken 
before  she  was  led  down  into  the  water.  Such  ex- 
periences, in  those  early  days  when  baptistries  were  un- 
known, were  frequent  among  our  northern  churches, 
and  sometimes  occurred  as  far  south  as  Savannah. 
The  fact  is  worthy  of  notice,  as  illustrating  the  fidelity 
of  our  people  to  what  they  believed  to  be  the  teachings 
of  the  Bible.  The  young  lady  was  ready  and  willing 
to  go  through  the  ice  as  she  followed  the  footsteps  of 
the  Savior. 

Her  first  husband  was  Mr.  Jno.  S.  Walton,  a  mem- 


246  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

ber  of  a  prominent  family  in  Wilkes  County,  and  a 
kinsman  of  Hon.  Robert  Walton  and  Hon.  George 
Walton — the  latter  one  of  the  signers  of  the  declara- 
tion of  American  independence. 

Mr.  Walton,  however,  died  early  and  left  his  young 
wife  with  several  small  children.  She  subsequently 
married  our  brother,  M.  P.  Callaway,  and  then  com- 
menced their  united  lives. 

Not  very  long  after  their  marriage  I  became  ac- 
quainted with  them,  during  a  meeting  of  the  State  Con- 
vention, or  of  the  Georgia  Association  (I  can  not  re- 
member which  it  was),  held  in  Washington,  Wilkes 
County.  1  shared  their  hospitality  and  began  an  ac- 
quaintance which  continued  as  long  as  they  lived. 
Brother  Callaway  frequently  attended  our  various  re- 
ligious convocations,  in  all  which  he  took  an  earnest 
interest  and  thus  became  well  known  to  his  Baptist 
brethren  far  and  wide  through  the  State. 

Some  time  before  the  war  he  opened  a  large  planta- 
tion in  Mitchell  County,  about  ten  miles  from  Albany, 
on  the  road  that  leads  to  Thomasville.  There  he  set- 
tled his  family,  surrounded  with  all  that  was  needed  to 
make  a  residence  in  the  country  not  only  comfortable 
but  attractive.  He  named  his  place  "Cottage  Home." 
The  house  was,  indeed,  a  cottage  as  to  its  style,  but 
in  its  structure,  its  amplitude,  and  its  finish,  it  was  a 
convenient  and  handsome  residence.  The  furniture 
was  in  keeping  with  the  house,  exhibiting  nothing  os- 
tentatious or  extravagant,  but  reflecting  everywhere 
the  taste  and  refinement  of  its  intelligent  mistress. 
Here  lived  Brother  M.  P.  Callaway  and  his  wife,  ever 
ready  to  dispense  with  pleasure  a  generous  hospitality. 
That  household  might  be  taken  as  a  fair  sample  of 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  247 

thousands  of  others  that  graced  the  old  plantations 
where  dwelt  the  rural  population  of  the  South  in  the 
days  before  the  war. 

But  after  all,  the  crowning .  beauty  of  the  family 
was  its  piety.  The  father  and  mother  were  earnest 
Christians.  They  loved  the  house  of  God,  were  regu- 
lar in  attendance  upon  its  services,  and  were  liberal 
contributors  to  all  its  expenses.  During  the  stormy 
years  of  1864  ^"d  1865,  I  was  their  pastor,  living  near 
the  church  to  which  they  belonged.  I  thus  had  an  op- 
portunity to  know  them  as  church  members.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  manifold  kindnesses  which  I  and  my 
family  received  at  their  hands.  Religion  was  no  exotic 
in  their  house.  If  I  remember  rightly,  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  family  whom  I  knew  at  that  time  were 
members  of  the  church.  And  those  of  them  who  are 
still  living  I  trust  are  trying  to  follow  their  parents  in 
lives  of  piety  and  in  works  of  mercy. 

Mrs.  Callaway  was  in  every  sense  a  lady.  Intelli- 
gent, cultured  and  refined,  she  was  qualified  to  shine 
in  the  highest  walks  of  worldly  and  fashionable  life. 
Brother  Callaway  with  his  clear  head,  prudence  and 
good  judgment,  with  his  wide  knowledge  of  the  world, 
could  also  have  been  conspicuous  in  what  is  called 
fashionable  society.  And  then  had  he  and  his  wife 
preferred  to  be  identified  thus  with  the  world,  they 
had  ample  means  to  indulge  such  a  wish.  But  content 
with  a  home  abundantly  comfortable,  and  sufficiently 
ornate  to  satisfy  a  rational  taste  for  the  beautiful,  they 
preferred  the  companionship  of  those  with  whom  in 
Christian  fellowship  they  could  share  the  '^pleasures 
of  piety." 

Thus  these  two   people  lived  till   death   separated 


248  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

them.  Near  the  close  of  1881,  Mrs.  Callaway  was 
called  to  her  heavenly  home.  Her  graceful  form  shall 
be  seen  and  her  words  of  welcome  be  heard  no  more  in 
the  halls  of  "Cottage  Home,"  but  the  memory  of  her 
virtues  will,  I  hope,  shed  a  beam  of  light  along  the 
pathway  of  her  surviving  loved  ones. 

Brother  Callaway  married  a  second  wife,  but  I  had 
not  the  pleasure  of  her  acquaintance  and  therefore  am, 
not  able  to  give  any  reminiscences  of  her.  She  also  has 
passed  away. 

During  the  last  fifteen  years  or  more  of  Brother  Cal- 
laway's life,  I  met  him  only  a  few  times  and  know  but 
little  of  the  incidents  of  that  period.  But  I  have 
learned  that  he  continued  his  charities  as  long  as  he 
lived.  How  much  he  may  have  contributed  from  first 
to  last  for  benevolent  objects  will  never  be  known  in 
this  world.  One  munificent  gift  has  recently  come  to 
my  knowledge.  That  was  a  gift  of  $500  at  one  time  to 
the  Seminary  at  Louisville. 

Well,  he  rests  from  his  labors,  and  his  works  shall 
follow  him.     May  God  bless  his  surviving  children. 


section  two. 

"the  christian  index." 

(Published  April  27,  1899.) 

The  service  which  the  Christian  Index  has  accom- 
plished for  the  Baptists  of  Georgia  deserves  to  be  put 
on  record.  The  present  generation  can  hardly  appre- 
ciate it,  for  the  simple  reason  that  most  of  the  Baptists 
now  living  became  acquainted  with  the  Index  at  a 
period  when  it  had  already  accomplished  a  large  part 
of  its  work.     They   see  the  work,  but  they  do  not 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  249 

know  how  much  of  it  is  due  to  the  power  and  influence 
of  that  paper. 

My  memory  reaches  back  to  an  earlier  date.  I  can 
remember  when  the  Index  was  called  The  Columbian 
Star.  It  had  its  origin  in  1821,  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  In  a  few  years,  however,  it  was  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,  and  was  edited  by  the  elder 
William  T.  Brantley,  who  was  a  giant  Baptist,  and  for 
several  years  was  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Au- 
gusta, Georgia.  Under  his  management,  the  Colnm- 
bian  Star  became  a  most  excellent  paper.  My  mother 
was  a  subscriber  for  it,  and  though  I  was  myself  too 
young  to  appreciate  it  I  remember  well  how  she  loved 
it  and  with  what  pleasure  she  welcomed  its  weekly 
visits. 

At  the  time  above  mentioned,  I  doubt  if  there  were 
twenty  thousand  white  Baptists  in  all  the  State,  and 
very  few  of  these  could  claim  any  mental  culture 
much  beyond  the  range  of  a  common-school  education. 
Nor  were  the  preachers,  as  a  rule,  much  advanced  in 
culture  above  their  people.  It  was  night  over  all  our 
Baptist  Zion  in  Georgia,  with  only  here  and  there  a 
star  to  relieve  its  darkness. 

The  reality  of  this  darkness  is  shown  by  other  facts. 
Sunday-schools  were  almost  unknown.  The  few  that 
existed  were  found  in  cities  and  in  towns  as  union 
schools,  open  to  all  denominations,  and  in  no  sense  re- 
garded as  institutions  of  the  churches.  I  doubt  if 
there  was  a  Baptist  Sunday-school  in  any  church  in 
Georgia  prior  to  1830,  except  perhaps  in  Savannah, 
Sunbury  and  Augusta.  Again,  the  cause  of  missions, 
especially  of  foreign  missions,  was  just  beginning  to 
attract  the  attention  of  Georgia  Baptists.     The  con- 


250  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

tribiitions  were  very  meagre,  probably  not  more  than 
one  thousand  or,  possibly,  one  thousand  and  five  hun- 
dred per  annum  for  the  whole  State.  And  as  to  the 
temperance  reform,  that  had  not  dawned.  Eggnogs 
before  breakfast  and  toddies  before  dinner  were  fre- 
quent in  all  homes,  and  church  members  and  their 
preachers  often  indulged  in  such  beverages.  The  cause 
of  education,  also,  was  in  a  very  low  condition.  It  is 
true  some  interest  was  manifested  in  it  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  century,  but  the  efiforts  made  in  its  be- 
half came  to  nothing. 

But  at  length,  Dr.  Jesse  Mercer  bought  the  Colum- 
bian Star — the  Christian  Index — and  planted  it  near  his 
own  home  in  Washington,  Georgia,  and  became  its  edi- 
tor. This  was  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  era  for  our  Bap- 
tist denomination.  The  subscribers,  though  few,  were 
some  of  the  best  and  most  intelligent  of  our  people. 
They  were  able  to  appreciate  the  teachings  of  the 
Index,  to  imbibe  its  spirit  and  to  adopt  its  suggestions. 
And  then  they  were  able  to  give  to  all  with  whom  they 
associated  their  own  impressions  concerning  the  aims 
of  the  paper,  and  thus  its  influence  was  felt  far  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  subscription-list.  That  influence 
was  manifested  in  many  ways. 

It  stood  for  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the 
saints.  It  came  into  the  State  when  the  denomination 
was  rent  with  divisions.  Some  held  the  "doctrines  of 
grace"  to  such  a  degree  that  they  became  practically 
antinomians,  and  went  so  far  as  to  declare  non-fellow- 
ship with  all  the  benevolent  enterprises  in  which  their 
brethren  were  engaged.  The  Index,  without  compro- 
mising or  impairing  the  doctrines  of  grace,  became  the 
champion  of  every  benevolent  and  pious  work. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  251 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  meagre  contributions 
for  missions  during  the  twenties.  They  were  very 
small.  In  the  year  1834  the  Georgia  Baptist  Conven- 
tion met  at  Shiloh  Church,  in  Greene  County.  I  was 
there  for  the  first  time,  as  a  member  of  that  vener- 
able body.  Many  of  the  Baptist  fathers  were  on  hand. 
Doctor  Mercer  was  moderator.  The  Index  had  been 
in  Georgia  only  about  five  or  six  years.  When  the 
subject  of  missions  was  reached,  a  brother  moved  that 
the  Convention  should  pledge  itself  to  raise  for  the  en- 
suing year  for  missions  the  sum  of  three  thousand 
dollars.  After  an  interesting  debate,  the  resolution 
was  adopted.  The  amount  pledged  was  at  least  double, 
perhaps  three  times,  what  had  ever  before  been  con- 
tributed directly  for  missions  in  one  year  by  Georgia 
Baptists.  Now,  I  risk  nothing  in  claiming  that  it  was 
the  Index  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  had  done  most 
to  raise  our  people  to  so  high  an  advance  upon  their 
earlier  contributions. 

From  the  time  just  referred  to,  the  paper  has  con- 
tinued its  fostering  care  of  missions  till  the  contribu- 
tions for  them  have  reached  sometimes  as  much  as 
sixty  thousand  dollars  in  a  single  year.  Indeed  I  am 
not  sure  that  I  have  not  understated  the  amount.  Of 
course,  this  increase  of  contributions  is,  in  part,  due  to 
the  natural  increase  of  our  people  in  numbers.  But 
the  Index  must  be  regarded,  under  God,  the  most  ef- 
fective factor  in  the  case.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  mere  numbers  are  of  little  avail  for  any  of  the 
great  works  of  piety  unless  the  people  are  well  in- 
formed in  regard  to  such  works.  It  was  the  Index 
that  gave  to  our  constantly  increasing  membership 
the  information  that  was  needed  to  call  forth  their  en- 
thusiasm in  behalf  of  our  various  missions. 


252  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Another  protege  of  the  Christian  Index  has  been 
Mercer  University.  When  the  Convention  above  re- 
ferred to  met  at  Shiloh  in  1834,  the  Mercer  Institute 
was  only  three  years  old.  In  1838  it  was  elevated  to 
the  rank  of  a  university.  From  the  beginning,  the 
Index  took  it  under  its  fostering  care,  and  has  never 
ceased  to  plead  its  cause  before  our  Baptist  people. 
Knowing  as  I  do  the  struggles  through  which  it  has 
passed,  I  feel  very  sure  that,  without  the  aid  of  such  an 
advocate  as  the  Index  proved  to  be,  Mercer  University 
would  never  have  reached  its  present  high  position. 

After  the  Index  was  planted  in  Georgia,  it  was  not 
long  before  it  became  a  champion  of  temperance.  Dr. 
Charles  D.  Mallary,  of  sainted  memory,  wrote  many 
columns  in  its  behalf.  He  adopted  the  form  of  al- 
legory. Personifying  w^hisky  under  the  name  and  title 
of  ''King  Alcohol,"  he  proceeded  to  describe  a  pro- 
tracted war  between  the  said  king  and  certain  parties 
(representing  the  temperance  people)  who  were  seek- 
ing to  dethrone  him  and  to  set  free  his  enslaved  sub- 
jects. The  allegory  was  well  sustained  and  widely 
read.  It  was  continued  through  many  numbers  of  the 
Index.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  influence  which  that 
noble  paper  has  exerted  in  bringing  Georgia  Baptists 
into  harmony  with  the  great  temperance  movement. 


SECTION  THREE. 
'*THE   CHRISTIAN    INDEX." 

(Published  May  25,  1899.) 

I  have  received  an  interesting  letter  from  a  vener- 
able brother,  who,  like  myself,  knew  the  Columbian 
Star  when  he  was  a  boy.     We  are  very  nearly  the 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  353 

same  age.  He  is  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  the  first 
generation  of  Georgia  Baptists  who  lived  and  labored 
for  the  Master  during  the  early  decades  of  the  century. 
I  allude  to  Brother  Thomas  J.  Davis,  who  still  lingers 
in  his  eighty-ninth  year  at  his  home  near  Cave  Spring, 
Georgia. 

Brother  Davis  tells  us  that  before  Doctor  Mallary's 
articles  were  published,  as  early  as  1827,  it  was  a 
group  of  Baptists  that  formed  the  first  organized  tem- 
perance society  that  was  ever  established  in  Georgia. 
Here  I  will  give  an  extract  from  his  letter : 

"I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  first  move  in  the 
temperance  reform  in  Georgia.  It  originated  in  the 
breast  of  my  father.  It  was  inspired  in  him  by  reading 
the  Columbian  Star.  As  you  say,  the  Index  has  been 
one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  temperance  reform.  I 
claim  that  it  (the  reform)  originated  in  the  heart  of  a 
Baptist,  from  the  reading  of  the  Columbian  Star.  My 
father  became  strongly  inspired  with  the  subject.  In 
consultation  with  Rev.  Jeremiah  Reeves,  who  was  then 
pastor  of  father's  church  (the  Academy),  they  met 
at  a  church  near  by.  Walnut  Fork,  Jackson  County,  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1827,  and  formed  what  was  called  'The 
Jackson  County  Anti-intemperance  Society.'  That  was 
the  first  organized  society  made  in  Georgia.  Jeremiah 
Reeves  was  made  president ;  my  father,  Joseph  Davis, 
secretary ;  John  Willis,  Joseph  J.  Pollard  and  John  J. 
Pollard,  managers — all  members  of  a  Baptist  church. 
My  father  wrote  the  constitution.  Females  were  in- 
vited to  become  members.  It  (the  society)  increased 
very  rapidly." 

Such  is  Brother  Davis's  account  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  first  temperance  society  in  Georgia.  Brother 


254  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Davis  further  informs  us  that  very  soon  the  Methodists 
and  Presbyterians  in  the  county  united  with  them  and 
the  society  became  a  power  in  the  community.  In  a 
Httle  while  it  had  a  thousand  members.  Thus  the 
little  seed  dropped  in  1827  by  the  Columbian  Star  into 
the  "prepared  ground"  of  Deacon  Davis's  heart,  and 
faithfully  nurtured  afterwards  by  the  same  paper  un- 
der a  new  name  and  management,  has  developed  into 
a  great  tree  that  well  deserves  to  be  called  a  tree  of  life, 
which,  even  now,  under  the  law  of  ^'local  option,"  has 
spread  its  benign  and  protecting  branches  over  nearly 
a  hundred  counties  of  our  grand  old  commonwealth. 
And  we  are  looking  and  hoping  that  it  will  continue  to 
grow  till  its  fruit  of  ''local  option"  shall  ripen  into  the 
perfection  of  absolute  "prohibition,"  which  shall  stand 
as  a  protection  against  all  the  poisonous  drugs  that 
the  emissaries  of  King  Alcohol  may  seek  to  circulate 
among  our  people.  We  rejoice  to  know  that  the  ortho- 
dox religious  papers  of  other  denominations  are  with 
the  Index  in  its  efforts  to  accomplish  this  grand  re- 
sult. 

I  did  not  know  the  history  of  the  "Jackson  County 
Anti-intemperance  Society"  till  I  received  Brother 
Davis's  letter.  But  his  letter  brought  to  my  remern- 
brance  an  incident  in  my  own  life  which  I  had  almost 
forgotten.  I  can  not  say  how  long  a  time  passed  since 
I  had  thought  of  the  incident,  but  his  letter  brought  it 
to  my  recollection.  I  was  made  to  remember  that  I  my- 
self was  once  present  at  a  meeting  of  that  very  society 
of  which  Brother  Davis  speaks.  It  must  have  been 
about  ten  years  after  its  organization.  The  meeting  to 
which  I  allude  was  held  in  Jefferson,  Jackson  County. 
I  had  been  serving  for  some  time  a  country  church 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  255 

called  Cabin  Creek,  six  miles  from  Jefferson.  This 
service  had  made  me  acquainted  with  many  people  in 
Jackson  County.  So,  when  the  great  temperance  so- 
ciety held  its  annual  meeting  that  year,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  being  on  hand.  But,  as  stated  above,  I  had 
almost  forgotten  it,  so  far,  indeed,  that  even  after  I  re- 
membered the  meeting,  I  was  able  to  recall  but  very 
little  of  what  was  done.  In  my  reply  to  Brother 
Davis's  first  letter,  I  called  his  attention  to  that  meet- 
ing. In  his  reply,  he  again  refreshed  my  memory.  He 
mentions  as  present  on  that  occasion.  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Reeves,  as  still  the  president  of  the  society,  and  his 
father,  Deacon  Joseph  Davis,  as  still  the  acting  secre- 
tary. By  that  time,  however,  the  society  had  greatly 
increased.  It  then  had  two  vice-presidents,  one  a 
Presbyterian,  whose  name  was  Rev.  J.  McAlpin,  and 
the  other  a  Methodist,  Rev.  J,  W.  Glenn.  Dr.  J.  R. 
Grant,  a  Presbyterian,  was  corresponding  secretary. 
These  were  the  officers  at  the  meeting  referred  to. 

It  was  customary  at  the  annual  meetings  of  that  so- 
ciety to  admit  visitors  from  neighboring  counties.  How 
many  visitors  were  present  at  that  time  I  do  not  know, 
but  Rev.  Anselm  Anthony  was  one  and  I  was  another. 
Now  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  chief  value  of 
this  reminiscence  is  to  enable  us,  the  Baptists  of  Geor- 
gia, to  appreciate  as  we  ought  the  influence  of  the 
Christian  Index  in  giving  a  start  to  the  great  tem- 
perance movement  in  our  native  State.  Brother  T.  J. 
Davis  informs  us  that  its  very  first  manifestation  was 
made  by  his  father  under  the  teachings  of  the  Colum- 
bian Star,  the  same  paper  that  is  now  the  Christian 
Index. 

It  is  interesting,  also,  to  notice  that  the  beginning  of 


256  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

this  movement  was  made  on  the  4th  of  July.  This 
could  hardly  have  been  an  accidental  coincidence.  In 
1827,  the  Fourth  of  July  was  an  anniversary  that  truly 
excited  the  patriotic  enthusiasm  of  our  whole  country. 
It  was  celebrated  at  that  time  not  only  with  the  tones 
of  the  human  voice,  which  were  powerless  to  express 
the  emotions  of  the  nation's  heart,  but  they  invoked  the 
help  of  the  trumpet's  wild  blast,  of  the  bugle's  far- 
reaching  and  melodious  sounds.  Nor  were  these  suf- 
ficient. No,  it  required  the  deep  thunders  of  ten  thou- 
sand cannon,  replying  to  one  another  across  the  conti- 
nent, to  express  the  joy  which  the  nation  felt  for  its 
deliverance  from  political  bondage  to  a  foreign 
power. 

Now  it  was  a  Fourth  of  July,  while  the  people  gener- 
ally were  celebrating  the  anniversary  of  their  political 
freedom,  that  a  little  group  of  Baptists  gathered  at  a 
country  meeting-house  and  then  and  there  put  forth  a 
"declaration  of  independence"  against  a  tyrant  far 
more  cruel  and  oppressive  than  any  political  ruler  could 
ever  be. 


PART  SECOND. 


THE  STORY  OF  SHALER  GRANBY  HILLYER, 

BY   HIS  DAUGHTER,    LOUISA   C.    HILLYER. 

My  father,  Shaler  Granby  Hillyer,  was  born  in 
Wilkes  County,  Georgia,  June  20,  1809.  t^is  father, 
Shaler  Hillyer,  came  to  Georgia  when  a  young  man, 
from  the  town  of  Granby,  Connecticut.  Shaler  Hillyer 
married  Rebecca  Freeman,  the  only  child  of  John 
Freeman,  a  prosperous  planter  and  an  old  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  who  lived  on  the  banks  of  Broad  River 
in  Wilkes  County.  Here  in  the  homestead,  which  they 
called  Poplar  Grove,  my  father,  his  two  older  brothers, 
one  younger  brother  and  one  little  sister  were  born, 
and  here  they  spent  their  childhood  days.  It  was  a 
happy  home,  governed  by  kind  and  wise  parents. 

My  father's  younger  brother  died  when  three  years 
old,  and  his  sister  at  the  age  of  seven.  His  affection- 
ate heart  always  held  them  in  fond  remembrance,  and 
not  long  before  his  own  death  he  was  telling  me  of 
some  childish  reminiscence  of  his  little  brother. 

When  we  were  children,  our  father  would  take  me 
on  one  knee  and  my  sister  on  the  other  and  tell  us 
stories  of  his  sister,  our  ''Aunt  Harriet."  She  became 
to  us  the  embodiment  of  all  childish  virtues  embalr.ied 
in  everlasting  innocence  and  beauty.  As  an  illustration 
of  her  unselfishness,  he  told  how,  while  she  was  con- 
valescing from  a  spell  of  sickness  he  would  take  her 
to  ride  in  her  little  wagon,  which  he,  "playing  horse," 
drew  after  him.  When  she  had  ridden  thus  for  a 
while,  she  would  say :     "Now,  brother,  you  must  get 

259 


26o  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

in  and  let  me  draw  the  wagon."  He  remonstrated, 
saying  that  she  was  too  little  and  weak  to  pull  him. 
But  she  could  not  be  satisfied,  and  he  finally  humored 
her.  He  was  careful  not  to  put  his  weight  on  the 
wagon,  but  pushed  with  his  feet  on  the  ground.  Mean- 
while she  was  delighted  with  the  thought  that  she 
was  giving  him  a  ride. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  tender  recollections  of  the 
gentle  little  sister,  whom  they  all  loved  so  dearly.  Her 
infant  life  surely  performed  its  mission  in  making  more 
loving  and  sensitive  the  hearts  of  the  three  older 
brothers,  who  were  to  live  on  and  on  through  many 
years  and  face  the  rough  and  hardening  world,  each  in 
his  own  way.  When  they  were  old  men  and  some- 
times met  to  talk  of  other  days,  the  little  sister  who  left 
them  so  long  ago  was  the  theme  of  many  a  touching 
story. 

My  father's  parents  were  both  well-educated  people, 
and  were  anxious  for  their  children  to  have  school  ad- 
vantages. Unfortunately  these  were  hard  to  secure  in 
that  rural  community,  and  so,  at  a  tender  age,  the 
children  had  to  be  sent  from  home.  The  two  older 
brothers,  John  and  Junius,  were  sent  to  a  boarding- 
school  some  miles  away,  and  even  "little  Granby,"  at 
the  age  of  seven,  was  sent  to  an  old-field  school,  where 
he  boarded  with  the  teacher  from  Monday  morning 
until  Friday  afternoon.  Then  one  of  the  servants,  or 
a  member  of  the  family,  would  come  for  him  and  carry 
him  home.  I  have  heard  him  tell  of  this  little  school — 
how  he  had  but  one  book,  which  he  kept  lying  on  the 
bench  by  his  side  till  such  time  as  the  teacher  would 
call  him  up  to  "spell  his  lesson" ;  how  he  would  sit  and 
doze  and  wish  for  Friday  evening.    One  of  the  larger 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  261 

girls  of  the  school  was  very  kind  to  him,  and  would 
let  him  put  his  head  on  her  lap  and  go  to  sleep.  One 
Friday  afternoon,  when  he  was  anxiously  waiting  the 
close  of  school,  who  should  ride  up  to  the  schoolhouse 
door  but  his  own  beloved  mother?  He  exclaimed 
aloud,  breaking  suddenly  the  silence  of  the  room: 
''There's  ma !"  and  then  his  unbounded  happiness  al- 
most made  up  to  him  for  the  home-sickness  of  the 
week.  After  some  polite  formalities  between  the  lady 
and  the  teacher,  the  happy  little  boy  climbed  up  be- 
hind his  mother,  for  she  was  on  horseback,  and  they 
joyfully  rode  away.  Meantime  the  two  brothers,  re- 
spectively nine  and  eleven  years  of  age,  were  still  fur- 
ther from  home,  under  the  tutelage  of  a  very  severe  and 
cruel  teacher,  who  so  intimidated  his  pupils  that  they 
were  afraid  to  report  his  unjust  treatment.  But  time 
brought  its  changes,  and  not  long  after  the  incident 
above  related  they  all  returned  home  and  other  plans 
were  made  for  their  instruction.  My  father  told  of 
the  return  of  his  brothers  on  one  occasion,  which  was 
probably  their  final  return  from  the  school  above  de- 
scribed. They  were  expected  on  a  certain  day,  and 
when  he  saw  the  carriage  in  the  distance,  he  ran  to 
meet  it.  The  driver  stopped  and  let  him  get  inside 
with  his  brothers.  They  seemed  to  be  overjoyed  to 
see  him.  They  said,  "Why,  here  is  little  Granby." 
They  hugged  him  and  petted  him.  He  had  not  realized 
that  they  would  be  so  glad  to  see  him  and  their  affec- 
tionate greeting  made  him  very  happy. 

My  uncle,  Junius  Hillyer,  writing  of  those  times, 
says  of  my  father :  "And  a  still  further  change  which 
our  return  from  Skipwith's  School  brought  upon  our 
social   life   at   home   was   the   advent  upon   the   scene 


262  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

of  our  dear  little  brother,  Granby.  He  was  then  seven 
years  old — still  a  child — yet  he  could  keep  up  .  .  .  he 
could  understand,  and  though  he  could  not  make  a  trap 
or  set  a  hook,  yet  he  could  go  with  us  and  help  us  in 
our  trapping  and  fishing.  In  1816,  it  was  Brother 
John,  Granby,  and  myself.  .  .  .  Our  lives  have  flowed 
on  down  the  stream  of  time  together,  in  harmony  and 
in  sympathy.  What  has  concerned  one  has  concerned 
the  other.  We  have  had  our  boyish  sports  and  our 
school-day  labors  and  trials.  We  have  read  and 
learned  together  and  improved  our  minds  and  enlarged 
the  field  of  thought.  We  have  praye'd  together  and 
tried  to  serve  God;  and  we  have  rejoiced  together  in 
the  hopes  and  consolations  of  our  religion.  .  .  .  We 
began  life  together,  together  we  have  gone  through  it, 
and  now,  in  our  old  age,  we  may  have  the  assurance 
that  we  will  together  go  out  of  it." 

The  little  story  told  by  my  father,  and  the  above 
quotation  from  the  annals  of  the  family,  written  by  my 
uncle  for  the  pleasure  of  his  children,  go  to  show  the 
tender  afifection  that  existed  between  the  three  brothers, 
and  such  was  the  influence  of  the  one  over  the  other 
that  the  stories  of  their  early  lives  are  closely  inter- 
woven. They  loved  to  tell  their  children  of  the  scenes 
on  the  old  plantation,  of  the  free  country  life  and  its 
invigorating  pleasures,  with  enough  of  work  to  make 
them  strong  and  active  boys. 

But  a  sad  change  came  in  the  death  of  their  father. 
He  v/as  a  prosperous  business  man,  a  kind  husband, 
and  an  affectionate  father,  and  he  had  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  When  a  little  more  than 
forty  years  old,  in  the  midst  of  his  work,  he  died.  He 
had  just  assumed  some  very  heavy  obligations,  and 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  263 

when  his  affairs  were  settled  his  wife  and  children 
were  left  with  only  a  fragment  of  their  once  comfort- 
able fortune.  The  grandmother  still  had  a  small  prop- 
erty, and  with  her  help  arrangements  were  made  to 
move  to  Athens  where  the  boys  might  be  educated. 
Their  father's  death  took  place  March  12,  1820,  and 
it  was  during  the  following  summer  that  they  lost  their 
beloved  little  sister.  Their  mother — then  a  woman  of 
thirty-four — bereft  of  her  husband,  her  two  babies  and 
her  fortune,  sad  at  heart,  had  to  begin  life  anew.  The 
sublime  Christian  faith  and  courage  she  possessed  is 
well  shown  in  the  sequel.  She  still  had  her  noble 
mother  with  her,  and  how  much  that  grandmother 
was  to  those  three  boys  they  bore  witness,  by  word 
and  deed,  throughout  their  long  lives.  The  old  planta- 
tion home  was  given  up  and  a  small  farm  purchased 
near  Athens,  where  the  family  settled  and  where  they 
enjoyed  the  products  of  the  farm  while  at  the  same 
time  the  boys  were  able  to  secure  the  educational  ad- 
vantages of  the  town.  Here  they  met  the  usual  ex- 
periences of  grammar  school  and  college,  play-ground 
and  recitation-room.  They  had  their  pleasures  and 
their  trials,  and  they  made  their  friends — some  of 
them  lifelong. 

The  little  farm  was  a  mile  from  the  college  and  my 
father  said  he  walked  that  mile  several  times  a  day; 
first,  to  early  prayers  and  a  recitation,  and  back  to 
breakfast ;  again  to  one  or  more  recitations  and  back  to 
dinner;  another  recitation  and  home  -to  supper.  At 
night  he  went  to  his  little  attic  room  and  conned  his 
lessons  for  the  next  day.  There  were  very  few  helps 
in  those  days,  and  not  even  a  Greek-English  lexicon, 
but  the  Greek  words  were  translated  into  Latin,  and 


264  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

the  Latin  had  to  be  translated  by  the  student.  One 
help  he  had  in  his  mother.  She  was  not  a  Latin 
scholar,  but  when  he  had  read  his  lesson  as  he  thought 
correctly,  he  would  sit  by  her  side  and  read  it  to  her. 
If  she  pronounced  his  translation  to  be  clear  and 
correct  English,  he  felt  satisfied  with  his  work ;  but  if 
she  found  it  obscure,  he  applied  himself  again  to  con- 
quer the  difficulty.  Thus  throughout  his  college  course 
he  found  in  his  mother  his  dearest  sympathizer  and 
helper,  and  it  was  greatly  owing  to  his  readings  with 
her  of  the  best  English  classics  that  he  acquired  that 
rhetorical  finish  in  reading  for  which  he  was  after- 
wards distinguished. 

All  who  knew  my  father  will  agree  that  modesty 
was  a  marked  trait  of  his  character.  It  is  possible  that 
this  might  have  served  to  throw  him  into  absolute  ob- 
scurity had  not  a  very  lofty  aim  to  accomplish  some 
good  in  the  world  and  a  noble  desire  to  serve  others, 
joined  to  an  indomitable  industry  and  perseverance, 
enabled  him  to  overcome  that  failing,  which,  like  most 
of  his  failings,  "leaned  to  virtue's  side."  He  used  to 
tell  this  story  on  himself :  When  he  began  his  career  in 
the  debating  society  at  college,  he  could  not  succeed  in 
filling  out  the  three  minutes  alloted  to  him ;  but,  over- 
come by  the  dignity  of  the  occasion  and  the  august  as- 
sembly of  young  Demostheneans,  his  carefully  pre- 
pared arguments  would  escape  him,  and  he  would 
bring  his  discourse  to  an  untimely  end.  His  brother 
Junius,  who  had  been  in  the  society  for  a  year  and  was 
already  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  debaters,  was 
mortified  at  the  beginning  my  father  had  made,  and  one 
day,  in  conversation  with  a  classmate  and  very  intimate 
friend,  he  said,  "What  shall  I  do  with  Granby?    Ought 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  265 

I  not  to  advise  him  to  give  up  trying  to  speak?"  This 
friend  rephed,  "No,  you  let  Granby  alone.  He  is  bash- 
ful now,  but  he  is  going  to  make  a  speaker."  This  ad- 
vice was  followed  and  it  was  not  long  before  "Granby" 
not  only  filled  out  his  allotted  time  for  debate,  but  he 
took  high  rank  as  debater  and  orator.  Some  of  those 
who  remember  to  have  heard  the  old  man  preach  for  an 
hour,  and  then  seem  reluctant  to  leave  the  theme  with 
which  his  heart  was  all  aflame,  may  smile  incredulously 
at  the  story  of  the  timid  boy  who  struggled  to  fill  three 
minutes. 

In  the  year  1829  my  father  graduated.  His  college 
course  had  been  a  great  success.  While  he  did  not  re- 
ceive an  honor,  technically  so  called,  he  graduated  with 
distinction.  He  ranked  among  the  best  and  brightest 
of  a  very  talented  class.  He  had  the  unqualified  ap- 
probation of  his  preceptors,  and  he  was  the  joy  and 
pride  of  his  family. 

Two  months  later  he  one  day  received  an  invitatioji 
from  Doctor  Waddell,  the  president  of  the  college,  to 
come  to  his  room,  as  he  had  something  of  importance 
to  communicate.  Upon  my  father's  arrival  the  Doctor 
showed  him  a  letter  from  a  gentleman,  Col.  Robert 
.Gamble,  who  lived  in  Florida,  and  who  wished  to 
employ  a  tutor  in  his  family.  He  asked  Doctor  Wad- 
dell to  recommend  some  young  man  for  the  position. 
After  my  father  had  learned  the  object  of  the  letter, 
the  Doctor  said,  "Now,  Granby,  if  you  desire  this  po- 
sition, it  is  yours,  for  I  will  suggest  your  name  at 
once  to  Colonel  Gamble."  The  ofifer  was  accepted, 
and  the  confidence  in  him  that  his  old  teacher  showed 
was  a  gratification  to  my  father  all  his  life. 

Soon  his  preparations  were  made  to  take  what  was 


266  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

then  a  very  long  journey — from  Athens  to  Florida. 
Col.  Robert  Gamble  lived  some  twenty-five  miles  east 
of  Tallahassee.  It.  was  considered  a  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance that  a  prominent  business  man,  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, was  about  to  move  from  the  town  of  Eatonton  to 
Tallahassee.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  family  and  my 
father's  brother  John,  that  same  year,  married  Mary 
Williams,  the  niece  of  this  man.  He  was  the  father  of 
Doctor  William  Williams,  whom  my  father  succeeded 
as  professor  of  theology  in  Mercer  University,  and  who 
so  long  occupied  the  chair  of  systematic  theology  in 
the  Baptist  Seminary  at  Greenville,  South  Carolina. 
Mr.  Williams  was  glad  to  have  my  father  join  him  as 
an  additional  protection  to  his  wagons.  He  was  a 
banker,  and  his  purpose  was  to  establish  a  bank  in 
Tallahassee.  Among  his  other  goods  he  carried  bags 
of  gold  amounting  to  sixty  thousand  dollars.  This 
treasure  he  and  the  young  men  with  him  had  to  guard ; 
but  so  quiet  and  peaceful  was  the  country  that  they 
had  little  fear  of  molestation  and  carried  the  gold 
in  safety  to  the  end  of  their  journey. 

My  father  spent  one  year  in  Colonel  Gamble's  house 
and  he  always  seemed  to  recall  that  year  with  pleasure. 
His  host  was  a  gallant  gentleman  and  treated  the  young 
tutor  with  consistent  courtesy,  as  did  the  whole  fam- 
ily. It  was  there  he  gained  his  first  experience  in  teach- 
ing, and  in  his  leisure  hours  he  studied  law,  for  he 
expected  to  follow  that  profession.  But  it  was  the 
teaching  and  not  the  law  that  was  to  be  of  service  to 
him  in  after  years.  He  was  not  at  this  time  a  professor 
of  religion.  His  mother,  writing  to  him  of  the  re- 
ligious condition  of  the  town  of  Athens,  and  express- 
ing an  earnest  desire  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit, 


Rcniiniscenccs  of  Georgia  Baptists.  367 

says :  ''And  that  you  too,  my  precious  Granby,  may  be 
taught  speedily  to  feel  the  meltings  of  divine  grace  is 
the  fervent  prayer  of  your  afifectionate  mother,  R. 
Hillyer." 

In  November,  1830,  my  father  returned  to  his  home 
near  Athens  and  continued  his  legal  studies  in  the  office 
of  his  elder  brother,  Junius  Hillyer,  and  in  August, 
1 83 1,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  But  in  the  meantime 
he  had  joined  the  Baptist  church  and  had  occasionally 
spoken  in  public  at  religious  meetings,  and  thus  his 
attention  began  to  be  drawn  towards  the  ministry.  It 
so  happened  that  just  then  he  was  invited  to  become  the 
principal  of  the  academy  at  Sunbury,  on  the  seaboard 
of  Georgia.  The  result  was  that  the  young  lawyer, 
owing  to  the  condition  of  his  finances,  deemed  it  best 
to  defer  his  entrance  upon  his  chosen  profession  for  a 
year  or  two.  Accordingly  he  accepted  the  invitation 
and  took  charge  of  the  school  in  Sunbury.  The  vil- 
lage of  Sunbury  was  noted  for  the  moral  and  social 
elevation  of  its  inhabitants.  The  principal  was  not  only 
a  young  teacher,  but  was  also  a  young  Christian,  and 
needed  just  such  surroundings  to  give  a  right  directiQri 
to  his  religious  growth. 

His  next  engagement  was  a  position  in  the  Girls' 
High  School  in  Athens.  This  he  held  during  the  year 
1833.  In  November  of  that  year  he  was  elected  tutor 
in  his  alma  mater.  This  position  he  held  through  1834. 
During  these  several  years  his  mind  was  exercised  on 
his  growing  inclination  for  the  ministry.  It  was  in 
Sunbury,  in  1832,  that  he  preached  his  first  sermon, 
and  on  his  return  to  Athens  he  engaged  in  religious 
work,  in  church  meetings,  prayer-meetings,  and  Sun- 
day-schools. 


268  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

On  August  i6,  1835,  Shaler  GranBy  Hillyer  was 
regularly  ordained  to  the  Baptist  ministry.  No  man 
then  knew  what  this  meant  to  the  people  of  Georgia, 
and  eternity  alone  will  reveal  what  it  has  been,  but  that 
it  was  of  profound  importance  none  can  doubt.  He 
was  called  to  ordination  by  the  church  at  Cabin  Creek, 
Jackson  County,  and  Reuben  Thornton,  Jeremiah 
Reeves,  Phillip  Mathews,  and  Benjamin  Brown  formed 
the  Presbytery.  The  following  year,  1836,  he  was  pas- 
tor of  Cabin  Creek  church. 

And  now  came  the  question  of  his  secular  work,  for 
the  preachers  of  that  day  did  not  rely  upon  the  churches 
for  their  support.  He  believed  that  he  could  more  suc- 
cessfully and  harmoniously  combine  the  professions  of 
a  teacher  and  a  preacher  than  those  of  a  lawyer  and  a 
preacher.  He  therefore  renounced  the  bar  and  contin- 
ued his  labors  as  an  educator  in  connection  with  the 
more  important  work  of  the  ministry.  Within  these 
two  fields  of  labor  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  pro- 
fessional life,  and  he  soon  grew  into  prominence  both 
as  teacher  and  preacher. 

In  the  former  capacity  he  seemed  to  be  in  advance  of 
his  age  in  one  thing,  at  least.  He  ruled  chiefly  by 
gentle  measures.  The  age  under  which  he  was  raised 
was  dominated  by  the  extreme  application  of  the 
maxim,  "Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the  child,"  and  a 
method  of  severe  discipline  was  in  vogue  in  many  of  the 
schools  in  Georgia,  while  he  was  pursuing  a  dififerent 
one.  Not  that  he  fell  into  the  other  extreme  of  too 
great  mildness.  The  rod  with  him  was  a  reserve  force 
to  be  applied  at  the  proper  time,  and  he  had  need  to 
resort  to  it  less  often  as  he  gained  in  experience.  He 
attached  his  pupils  to  him,  and  after  that  it  was  com- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  269 

paratively  easy  to  govern ;  but  he  had  a  firm  mouth, 
an  aquiHne  nose,  and,  on  occasion,  a  flashing  eye  that 
made  the  culprit  beware.  I  have  given  my  own  recol- 
lection of  him  in  the  schoolroom,  and  I  believe  his 
many  pupils,  who  are  scattered  over  this  State  from 
the  mountains  to  the  sea,  will  bear  me  out  in  this 
description. 

There  are  many  testimonials  to  my  father's  success 
and  power  as  a  preacher.  When  I  first  began  to  listen 
intelligently  to  his  sermons,  I  was  about  nine  years  old. 
I  came  to  look  upon  him  as  a  model  of  grace  and  elo- 
quence and  the  most  perfect  exponent  of  Christian  doc- 
trine and  practice.  One  marked  characteristic  of  his 
sermons  was  the  careful  and  logical  analysis  which  en- 
abled the  hearer  to  retain  his  line  of  thought  in  mem- 
ory ;  and  he  was  often  gratified  by  the  assurance  that 
such  and  such  a  sermon,  preached  by  him  so  many 
years  ago,  was  still  remembered  with  pleasure.  The 
text  and  analysis  as  well  as  vivid  illustrations  were 
clear  and  distinct  in  memory. 

While  teaching  in  Sunbury,  there  was  among  his 
pupils  a  lovely  girl,  Elizabeth  Thompson,  daughter  of 
a  fine  old  seaboard  family.  A  few  years  after,  on  a 
visit  to  Sunbury,  he  found  this  girl  grown  to  woman- 
hood, beautiful  and  accomplished,  fulfilling  all  the 
promise  of  her  earlier  years.  He  wooed  and  won  her 
and  in  December,  1836,  they  were  married.  He  took 
his  bride  to  Athens  where  he  was  principal  of  the  Male 
Academy  and  also  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church.  This 
seems  to  have  been  his  second  pastorate,  and  he  evi- 
dently made  a  good  impression,  for  some  years  later  he 
was  called  to  that  church  a  second  time.  I  received  a 
short  time  ago  a  letter  from  one  of  his  friends  of  those 


270  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

days,  who  says,  "I  knew  your  father  from  the  time  he 
was  first  pastor  at  Athens  and  I  loved  him." 

In  1838  he  became  pastor  of  the  church  in  Mil- 
ledgeville  and  this  connection  continued  for  six  years. 
Four  years  of  this  time  he  was  also  principal  of  the 
Scottsboro  Female  College,  and  resided  at  Scottsboro. 
For  two  years  of  the  time  he  served  the  Macon  church 
one  Sunday  in  each  month.  I  once  read  an  old  letter 
written  to  his  mother  at  this  period.  I  can  not  recall 
the  exact  words,  but  in  substance  he  thus  wrote  of  his 
domestic  life :  ''My  dear  Elizabeth  is  queen  in  our  lit- 
tle home.  Sam  [the  colored  man]  attends  to  the 
garden  and  the  cow;  Lily  [the  cook]  is  supreme  in 
the  kitchen,  and  poor  little  Augusta  [the  cook's  daugh- 
ter] is  everybody's  drudge.  When  I  come  home  from 
school  I  cut  up  the  wood,  which  gives  me  good  exer- 
cise ;  and  in  the  twilight  Elizabeth  plays  and  sings  for 
me  at  her  piano." 

Four  sweet  children  were  added  to  this  happy  home ; 
but  alas !  the  first-born,  a  dear  little  girl,  her  father's 
pride  and  joy,  was  taken  from  him,  when  she  was 
learning  to  talk  and  developing  those  entrancing  baby 
ways  that  lead  captive  all  hearts,  and  tempt  a  parent 
to  idolatry. 

When  I  was  a  child,  one  evening  at  family  prayer, 
after  my  mother  and  older  sisters  had  sung  the  hymp, 
"Oh,  for  a  closer  walk  with  God,"  our  father  said :  "My 
children,  I  wish  to  tell  you  of  an  experience  I  had  in 
connection  with  that  song.  While  your  little  sister, 
Susan,  my  first-born,  was  living,  on  one  occasion  I  was 
listening  to  the  singing  of  that  hymn,  and  when  I 
heard  those  words, 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  271 

'The    dearest    idol    I    have    known, 

Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  thy  throne, 

And  worship  only  thee,' 

my  heart  sank.  I  said,  'Suppose  my  little  girl  should 
be  demanded  of  me.  Could  I  consent  to  give  her  up? 
Could  I  say,  "Thy  will  be  done?"  Am  I  making  an 
idol  of  her?'  I  do  not  know  how  well  my  poor  heart 
was  able  to  answer  those  questions,  but  ere  long  the 
message  came,  and  I  had  to  give  up  my  darling.  I 
have  sometimes  thought,  perhaps  I  was  loving  my  baby 
too  much,  and  so  the  good  and  wise  Father  took  her 
to  himself  that  he  might  draw  her  parent's  heart  away 
from  earth  to  heaven." 

Once  when  I  was  looking  over  some  papers  with  mv 
father,  I  found  in  his  desk  a  little  morocco  jewel-case, 
and,  on  opening  it,  a  lock  of  baby  hair.  He  said 
"That  is  little  Susan's  hair,  my  mother  put  it  in  that 
casket  and  brought  it  to  me  when,  Susan  died."  I  was 
assorting  my  father's  papers  when  he  had  passed  away. 
I  found  again  that  little  case  with  the  lock  of  yellow 
hair.  Nearly  sixty  years  he  had  kept  it.  He  raised 
eleven  children,  and  he  often  quoted  with  a  loving 
smile,  as  he  looked  round  upon  us,  "Happy  is  the  man 
that  hath  his  quiver  full ;"  but  he  never  forgot  his 
first-born. 

On  June  11,  1843,  i"  her  little  home  near  Athens,  my 
father's  mother,  Rebecca  Hillyer,  died.  She  had  labored, 
loved  and  served.  She  lived  to  see  all  three  of  her 
sons  good  and  useful  men,  prosperous  in  their  work 
and  happy  in  their  families.  What  her  death  meant  to 
them  and  to  her  devoted  mother  may  well  be  imagined. 
I  can  not  dwell  upon  the  scene,  but  one  thing  I  must 


27^  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

tell.  Shortly  before  she  died,  none  but  my  father  pres- 
ent with  her,  she  told  him  of  a  small  sum  which  she 
had  and  which  she  wished  him  to  give  to  the  Mission 
Board  of  the  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  as  a  perma- 
nent fund,  the  interest  to  be  applied  to  the  foreign  mis- 
sion work.  In  the  settlement  of  her  little  affairs  he 
found  that  a  portion  of  the  fund  wdiich  she  desig- 
nated could  not  be  thus  applied,  but  as  far  as  possible 
he  carried  out  her  wishes.  He  placed  about  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  dollars  in  the  hands  of  the  Board,  and  it 
was  recorded  under  the  simple  name,  "Foreign  Mis- 
sion Fund."  I  have  been  told  that  the  interest  on  that 
fund  furnishes  fifteen  dollars  and  sixty  cents  annually 
to  Foreign  Missions.  By  a  recent  act  of  the  Conven- 
tion the  name  was  changed  to  "Rebecca  Hillyer  For- 
eign Mission  Fund." 

In  the  fall  of  1844  my  father  was  elected  to  the  po- 
sition of  principal  of  the  Female  School  at  Penfield, 
but  held  the  position  only  one  term.  He  lost  his  wife 
during  that  term,  and  his  own  health  was  so  poor  that 
he  was  obliged  to  give  up  all  work  for  a  time.  He  sent 
his  children  to  their  maternal  grandmother  in  Liberty 
County,  and  he  spent  several  months  in  travel  for  the 
restoration  of  his  health.  I  have  heard  him  say  that 
during  that  period  he  was  very  despondent  as  to  his 
recovery,  and  had  little  hope  of  living  another  year. 
It  was  at  some  Baptist  gathering  he  was  appointed  to 
preach  the  opening  sermon  for  the  next  annual  meeting. 
He  said  to  himself,  "My  alternate  will  have  to  preach 
that  sermon,  for  I  shall  not  be  here."  But  contrary  to 
his  forebodings  the  following  year.  1846,  found  him  re- 
stored to  health,  and  he  served  the  Madison  church,  and 
for  a  second  time  the  Athens  church. 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  273 

In  the  summer  of  1845  ^^^  had  been  elected  to  the 
chair  of  rhetoric  in  Mercer  University,  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  he  was  to  enter  upon  his  duties  as  soon 
as  the  financial  condition  of  the  college  might  authorize 
it.  This  occurred  in  1847.  His  work  included  rhetoric, 
intellectual  philosophy  and  moral  science.  Under  the 
head  of  rhetoric  it  became  his  duty  also  to  train  the 
students  in  composition  and  elocution.  His  success 
was  very  marked.  Mercer  became  famous  for  her 
fine  speakers,  who  rendered  the  commencements  popu- 
lar and  celebrated  all  over  the  State. 

Before  entering  upon  these  duties  he  had  married 
his  second  wife,  Miss  Elizabeth  Dagg,  daughter  of 
Dr.  J.  L.  Dagg,  president  of  the  University.  Educated 
at  her  father's  side,  she  had  become  an,  intellectual  wo- 
man, and  a  fit  companion  for  my  father  in  all  his  lit- 
erary work.  She  is  the  interpretation  to  my  mind  of 
the  word  "mother."  Her  love  was  deep  and  tender 
and  strong,  but  it  did  not  cloud  her  judgment.  She 
sustained  my  father  in  the  government  of  his  house, 
acting  with  cool  decision  and  calm  temper.  She  took 
into  her  big  heart  the  motherless  three  whom  my  father 
brought  her,  and  with  unfeigned  love  did  a  true  moth- 
er's part  by  them.  Two  of  her  own  babies  sleep  in  the 
old  cemetery  at  Penfield,  and  eight  of  us  live  to  "call 
her  blessed." 

The  intellectual  life  at  Mercer  was  a  joy  and  delight 
to  my  father.  He  ever  gladly  remembered  his  associa- 
tion there  with  some  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  State. 
Doctors  Dagg,  Mell,  Sanford,  Tucker,  Wise,  Craw- 
ford, Willet — all  were  kindred  spirits.  Some  of  these 
he  has  commemorated  in  his  writings,  and  he  regarded 
them  all  as  choice  companions.     It  was  while  he  was  at 


274  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

Mercer,  in  1850,  that  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
was  conferred  upon  him  by  that  institution. 

My  father's  grandmother,  Mrs.  Freeman,  had  be- 
come lame  from  a  fall,  and,  being  very  old,  she  was 
obliged  some  time  before  her  death  to  give  up  going  to 
public  services.  I  suppose  that  even  getting  in  and  out 
of  a  carriage  was  painful  to  her.  But  one  day,  for  some 
reason,  my  father  was  specially  anxious  for  her  to  at- 
tend the  exercises  at  the  college  chapel,  and  he  said, 
"Grandmother,  1  wish  you  would  let  two  of  the  negro 
men  carry  you  in  your  chair  to  the  chapel.  I  believe 
you  can  go  in  that  way  with  comfort."  She  agreed  to 
this,  and  so  the  little  town  of  Penfield  was  treated  to 
the  strange  sight  of  something  like  an  oriental  palan- 
quin. Perhaps  it  is  on  this  occasion  she  is  reported 
as  saying  that  it  was  the  proudest  day  of  her  life  when 
she  sat  in  the  audience  and  saw  her  three  grandsons  on 
the  rostrum  among  the  good  and  great  of  the  land — 
John  as  an  honored  guest,  Junius  as  a  trustee  of  the 
University,  and  Granby  as  a  member  of  the  faculty. 
She  felt  that  her  work  had  not  been  in  vain.  Her  own 
youthful  days  had  fallen  upon  Revolutionary  times,  and 
her  schooling  had  been  neglected,  but  she  knew  the 
value  of  learning  for  her  boys  and  had  made  many  sac- 
rifices for  their  sakes.  She  died  in  1855,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-nine,  surrounded  by  those  who  loved  and  rever- 
enced her  and  ever  honored  her  memory. 

Soon  after  his  grandmother's  death,  my  father,  hav- 
ing received  a  call  to  the  Baptist  church  at  Rome, 
moved  his  family  and  servants  to  a  farm  he  had 
bought  three  miles  from  that  town,  on  the  Oostanaula 
River.  He  named  the  home  Lindisfarn  from  a  sort 
of  romantic  application  of  Miss  Porter's  novel,  "The 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  275 

Pastor's  Fireside."  In  addition  to  his  pastoral  work 
and  the  farm  work,  in  which,  however,  he  had  the 
assistance  of  an  overseer,  he  estabHshed  a  home  school 
for  young  ladies,  and  soon  all  the  available  space  in  his 
house  was  filled.  He  received  also  from  the  neighbor- 
hood, as  day  pupils,  both  boys  and  girls.  It  seemed  that 
to  him  "Labor  was  life."  And  I  must  say  a  word 
here  about  my  father  as  a  slave-owner.  At  that  pe- 
riod he  owned  about  twenty  slaves — a  small  number 
for  those  times.  Although  his  professional  work  so 
engaged  his  attention  that  he  was,  as  a  general  thing, 
obliged  to  have  the  help  of  an  overseer,  he  did  not  neg- 
lect the  physical  comfort  nor  the  moral  instruction  of 
his  slaves.  They  lived  in  their  cabins  ranged  upon  the 
edge  of  his  back  yard,  where  he  could  care  for  them  in 
sickness  or  trouble,  and  where  he  could  by  his  mere 
presence  restrain  boisterous  conduct  and  prevent  quar- 
reling and  disorder.  It  was  his  custom  to  have  family 
prayer  in  the  dining-room,  immediately  after  supper, 
before  the  children  were  too  sleepy  to  give  heed.  On 
such  occasions  he  invited — not  compelled — the  servants 
to  come  in.  As  a  rule  they  appeared  to  enjoy  the  exer- 
cises, and  there  seemed  no  reluctance  to  comply  with  his 
wishes.  At  other  times  when  they  assembled  in  some 
one  of  their  own  cabins  to  hold  religious  services,  as 
they  were  fond  of  doing,  they  were  very  proud  to 
have  "Master"  come  out  and  give  them  a  talk  or  lead 
in  prayer;  and  he  in  his  turn  greatly  enjoyed  their 
hearty  singing.  In  the  many  changes  he  afterwards 
made  he  could  not  always  have  his  negroes  so  close  to 
him,  but  he  was  ever  mindful  of  their  moral  and  reli- 
gious instruction. 

In  1859  the  trustee^  of  Mercer  called  my  father  to 


276  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

fill^the  chair  of  theology.  This  position  he  accepted, 
and  so  the  "Pastor's  Fireside"  at  Lindisfarn  was  de- 
serted. He  held  the  position  of  professor  of  theology 
until  the  exercises  of  the  college  were  suspended  in 
1862  on  account  of  the  war. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861  his  two  oldest 
sons  were  on  the  eve  of  graduation.  They  had  both 
done  well  and  were  regarded  as  young  men  of  ability 
and  promise,  and  their  father  was  very  proud  of  them. 
The  elder,  Shaler,  had  taken  the  first  prize  for  decla- 
mation, and  Lorraine,  the  younger,  was  now  a  candi- 
date for  the  first  honor.  They  were  fired  with  the 
martial  spirit  of  the  times  and  eager  for  the  fray,  but 
their  father  restrained  them  from  enlisting,  until  they 
■had  received  their  diplomas.  My  brother  Lorraine  was 
an  earnest  student,  and  both  teachers  and  classmates 
testified  to  his  superior  gifts  of  mind ;  but  as  the  time 
approached  for  dividing  the  honors,  and  he  felt  some- 
what uncertain  as  to  what  the  decision  of  the  faculty 
would  be,  his  father  said  to  him,  ''My  son,  it  matters 
not  how  the  honors  may  be  bestowed,  I  want  you  to 
know  that  your  father  is  satisfied  with  your  college 
course.  You  have  done  your  duty."  Lorraine  looked 
up  with  a  bright  smile  and  said,  "Well,  father,  if  you 
are  satisfied,  I  am  content,  and  I  shall  feel  anxious  no 
longer."  But  to  the  joy  of  both  and  to  many  others  he 
won  the  first  honor. 

Lorraine  filled  his  father's  heart  with  the  sweet  and 
restful  love  of  approbation,  that  feels  no  regret,  that  is 
pained  by  no  misgivings.  Language  can  not  express 
the  pride  and  joy  and  hope  he  had  in  this  son.  But 
native  sweetness  of  character  alone  would  not  have 
satisfied  my  father.    He  believed  that  every  heart  needs 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  277 

the  regenerating  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  great 
was  his  joy  when  it  became  his  privilege  to  lead  this 
beloved  son  into  the  baptismal  water. 

Shortly  after  their  graduation,  Shaler  and  Lor- 
raine both  joined  the  army ;  and,  as  I  have  said,  the  col- 
lege was  suspended  in  1862,  and  my  father  took  his 
family  again  to  Lindisfarn,  which  place  he  still  re- 
tained and,  while  at  Mercer,  had  entrusted  to  the  over- 
seer. 

My  father  was  industrious,  cautious,  prudent,  eco- 
nomical. By  these  traits  and  also  by  the  assistance  of  a 
small  inheritance,  he  had  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  a 
modest  property,  which  with  his  salary  was  sufficient 
to  provide  comfortably  for  his  family  and  educate  his 
children  and  leave  something  for  his  old  age.  For 
many  reasons  that  seemed  proper  to  him  at  the  time, 
he  sold  his  plantation  in  the  fall  of  1862,  made  an 
engagement  to  take  charge  of  the  Hearn  School  at 
Cave  Spring,  and  bought  a  farm  near  that  place  on 
which  to  put  his  negroes. 

It  was  in  July,  1863,  while  he  was  living  in  Cave 
Spring,  the  dreadful  news  came  that  his  son  Lorraine 
was  mortally  wounded.  The  letter  announcing  this 
was  handed  to  him  while  he  was  engaged  in  the  school- 
room. He  dismissed  school,  and  with  anxious  heart 
began  to  employ  every  means  possible  to  learn  some- 
thing more  definite.  At  first  he  could  hear  from  no 
one  who  had  seen  Lorraine  die  or  who  had  seen  him 
after  he  was  dead.  He  was  left  wounded  on  the  field 
and  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  must 
be  explained  that  the  older  brother  was  not  near  him 
at  this  time,  and  could  not  even  go  to  the  scene  of  his 
death.    Lorraine  was  in  Virginia  and  his  brother,  whose 


278  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

health  had  failed  some  time  before,  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  the  Army  of  Virginia  to  a  post  in  Georgia. 
The  anxious  suspense  of  those  days  no  pen  can  depict. 
When  at  last  the  facts  were  known  they  were  as  fol- 
lows :  General  Wright's  brigade,  to  which  Lorraine  be- 
longed, was  detailed  to  guard  the  pass  at  Manassas 
Gap,  on  the  retreat  from  Gettysburg,  and  in  a  little  en- 
counter there  with  the  enemy  he  was  wounded.  His 
rank  was  that  of  first  lieutenant  but  he  was  acting  in 
the  place  of  captain  at  the  time.  The  enemy  gained  the 
field,  and  carried  him  with  some  of  their  own  wounded 
to  a  farm-house  near  by,  where  he  died  in  a  few  hours. 
The  most  substantial  information  came  from  the 
farmer,  Mr.  Hansborough,  and  there  could  be  no  rea- 
sonable doubt  that  the  young  officer  whom  he  described 
was  Lorraine,  and  yet  because  there  was  not  positive 
demonstration  of  his  identity  (the  war  had  closed  be- 
fore all  the  circumstances  of  his  death  were  learned), 
my  poor  father  would  cling,  at  times,  to  a  faint  hope 
that  his  precious  boy  might  yet  return ;  that  perhaps  he 
had  been  carried  to  a  northern  prison  instead  of  to  the 
farmhouse. 

The  death  of  Lorraine  was  a  very  crushing  blow  to 
my  father  and  to  all  the  family,  and  very  especially  to 
his  elder  brother,  for  they  had  been  constant  compan- 
ions from  infancy  and  were  devoted  to  each  other.  In 
speaking  of  this  sorrow,  my  father  said  that  for  some 
time  he  felt  unable  to  bear  it.  He  tried  not  to  rebel, 
but  his  grief  was  so  overwhelming  that  he  could  not 
regain  that  calmness  of  spirit  which  Christian  faith  and 
trust  ought  to  bring.  One  day  he  heard  a  sermon 
delivered  by  a  brother  preacher  that  comforted  his 
heart  and  made  him  willing  to  give  up  his  loved  one 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  279 

into  the  hands  of  the  Lord.  With  genuine  submission 
he  said,  ''Thy  will  be  done,"  and  a  load  of  grief  was 
rolled  from  his  soul,  and  he  could  look  up  and  smile, 
and  feeling  perfect  assurance  that  his  dear  child  was 
with  his  Savior,  he  took  up  again  his  work  for  the  lit- 
tle brothers  and  sisters  who  were  yet  to  tread  life's 
stony  way.  It  was  no  contradiction  of  this  experience 
that  when,  after  the  war,  the  soldiers  were  coming 
home  and  he  heard  of  so  many  unexpected  returns  of 
those  thought  to  be  lost,  hope  sprang  up  again,  and  his 
anxious  eye  scanned  the  passing  groups  of  war-worn 
travelers,  and  he  came  to  watch  for  the  stage  that 
daily  passed  the  door.  Each  time  he  sadly  turned 
away,  knowing  he  had  no  just  cause  for  the  disappoint- 
ment he  felt. 

In  the  same  summer  that  Lorraine  died,  1863,  the 
Flearn  School  was  very  much  disorganized  by  the  call 
for  young  recruits,  and  though  it  had  during  the  pre- 
ceding term  admitted  girls  as  well  as  boys,  the  leaving 
of  so  many  young  men,  and  the  constant  excitement  of 
the  community  caused  by  rumors  of  the  approaching 
enemy,  conspired  to  render  steady  and  peaceful  work 
almost  impossible.  Added  to  this  my  mother's  health 
had  become  very  feeble,  and  my  father  was  anxious 
to  take  her  to  some  quiet  retreat  where  she  might  rest 
secure  from  such  alarms.  Accordingly  he  once  more 
sold  his  farm  and  this  time  bought  in  Mitchell  County, 
twelve  miles  below  Albany,  on  the  then  stage  line  to 
Thomasville.  For  a  short  interval,  while  preparations 
were  made,  and  while  the  trade  was  unsettled,  he  sent 
his  family  to  his  Penfield  house.  This  was  the  last 
sojourn  at  Penfield  and  that  home  he  afterwards  sold. 
I  believe  a  portion  of  the  depreciated  currency  received 


28o  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

for  that  property  was  on  his  hands  when  Lee  sur- 
rendered. 

The  new  home,  like  most  of  its  neighbors,  was  a 
double  log  cabin,  with  wide  open  hall  between,  and 
two  weatherboarded  shed-rooms  at  the  back.  My 
father  soon  put  up  a  wing  at  each  rear  corner,  consist- 
ing of  one  large  room,  built  also  of  logs.  Thus  there 
were  six  rooms,  which  for  our  family  was  rather 
crowded,  but  we  became  accustomed  to  the  inconven- 
ience, and  we  were  very  happy  there  in  spite  of  the 
anxieties  and  privations  growing  out  of  the  war.  In 
the  same  spirit  of  rom.ance  in  which  he  had  named  the 
other  home  Lindisfarn,  my  father  called  this  Ravens- 
wood,  the  ravens  being  represented  by  the  flocks  of 
crows  that  cawed  in  the  tops  of  the  old  pine  deaden- 
ings.  While  living  in  this  retirement,  my  father  was 
pastor  of  the  country  church  near  by,  and  also  taught  a 
neighborhood  school.  One  object  he  had  in  this  was 
to  educate  his  children.  Their  schooling  went  on  with 
little  interruption  throughout  the  four  years,  that  is, 
of  those  who  were  of  school  age. 

When  the  war  closed,  and  the  negroes  were  set 
free,  a  Southwest-Georgia  plantation  with  Us  gin- 
house,  barns,  cabins,  etc.,  represented  the  bulk  of  my 
father's  fortune.  He  adapted  himself  as  best  he  could 
to  the  new  conditions,  mado  a  contract  with  his  former 
slaves  to  work  the  land,  and  so  struggled  on  through 
1866.  At  the  end  of  that  year  he  again  sold  out,  went 
to  Forsyth  and  took  charge  of  the  Monroe  College  in 
order  to  educate  his  five  daughters.  This  step  he  said 
he  never  regretted.  The  work  he  accomplished  in  the 
next  twelve  or  fourteen  years  was  something  marvel- 
ous.   When  he  moved  to  Forsyth  he  had  eight  children 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  381 

to  educate.  His  oldest  daughter  was  married,  and  his 
oldest  son  had  graduated  in  1861.  The  other  eight 
were  still  dependent  and  he  was  fifty-seven  years  old — 
an  age  at  which  many  men  wish  to  rest.  He  was  pas- 
tor of  the  church  as  well  as  president  of  the  college. 
When  he  finished  his  day's  work  in  the  school-room, 
he  spent  the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon  in  pastoral 
visiting.  There  were  no  street-cars  and  he  had  no 
conveyance,  but  he  was  always  a  good  walker.  He 
preached  twice  on  Sunday,  held  prayer-meeting  on 
Wednesday  night,  performed  the  marriage  ceremo- 
nies, visited  the  sick,  and  buried  the  dead.  In  short, 
he  met  all  the  obligations  of  a  pastor,  while  filling  with 
untiring  industry  and  unquestioned  ability  and  success 
his  position  in  the  college. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1870,  we  lost  our  beloved 
mother.  I  can  not  describe  the  sorrow  of  a  mother- 
less home.  Most  people  have  felt  it,  or  will  feel  it 
in  time.  Her  death  came  upon  us  as  a  sudden  and 
painful  shock.  For  eighteen  months  or  two  years  her 
health  had  so  greatly  improved  that  she  and  my  father 
were  encouraged  to  believe  that  she  would  entirely 
recover.  She  was  beginning  to  resume  little  tasks 
that  she  had  for  several  years  been  obliged  to  lay  aside. 
She  was  happy  in  her  plans  for  her  husband  and 
children,  and  in  the  care  of  her  father,  who  was  then 
living  with  us.  But  the  message  came,  and  she  was 
ready  to  go.  Dr.  William  T.  Brantly,  writing  of  her 
death,  said :  "Like  Enoch  she  walked  with  God,  and 
though  her  translation  was  not  so  miraculous  as  was 
his,  we  1)clieve  that  it  was  as  certain  and  as  glorious." 

Through  all  our  lives  our  mother  bad  taught  us  to 
revere  our  father.     I  believe  no  two  parents  ever  more 


282  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

fully  agreed  upon  principles  of  government  in  rearing 
their  children.  Our  mother  had  taught  us  to  acquiesce 
without  question  in  what  our  father  did ;  that  we 
might  feel  sure  of  his  doing  right.  He  so  verified  this 
by  every  word  and  deed  that  when  after  a  time  he  told 
us  of  his  intention  to  marry  again,  there  was  not  one 
rebellious  word  uttered,  and  though  we  wept  in  si- 
lence— for  motherless  children  must  weep — we  remem- 
bered what  she  had  taught  us  of  respect  and  loyalty 
to  our  father,  and  we  gave  our  dutiful  and  even  cheer- 
ful consent  to  his  wishes. 

The  new  mother  had  been  Mrs.  Lawton,  widow  of 
William  Lawton  and  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  Fur- 
man,  of  South  Carolina.  She  was  a  refined  and  cul- 
tured lady,  and  she  not  only  won  the  hearts  of  her 
stepchildren,  but  of  the  whole  community,  by  her 
sweet  and  gentle  manners  which  yet  only  half  re- 
vealed her  deeply  affectionate  and  sympathetic  nature. 

In  1872  my  father  resigned  the  presidency  of  the 
college  and  accepted  a  subordinate  position  so  as  to 
give  more  time  to  the  church.  In  1880  he  was  presi- 
dent again,  but  retained  the  position  only  about  eigh- 
teen months.  Advancing  age  and  failing  strength 
convinced  him  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  carry  on 
the  burden  of  the  two  professions.  One  must  be  re- 
linquished. Therefore  in  the  summer  of  1881  he  con- 
cluded to  close  his  labors  as  an  educator  and  devote 
his  life  to  the  ministry,  so  long  as  God  should  give 
him  strength  to  perform  its  duties.  His  daughters 
had  all  left  school,  some  were  married  and  the  others 
self-supporting;  and  this  was  an  additional  reason  for 
giving  up  the  school-room. 

In  1881  he  was  called  to  be  pastor  of  the  Baptist 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  283 

church  in  Washington,  Wilkes  County,  Georgia. 
Back  then  to  his  native  county  he  went  to  spend,  as 
he  probably  thought,  his  last  days.  For  six  years  he 
served  that  church  and  a  more  happy  relation  between 
pastor  and  people  could  scarcely  be  imagined.  While 
there,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  erection  of  a 
neat  and  substantial  church  building.  In  this  his  wife 
was  a  great  help  to  him,  as  she  was  in  all  his  pastoral 
labor.  .She  went  with  him  to  see  the  poor  and  the 
sick,  and  she  showed  the  most  earnest  zeal  in  Christian 
work.  The  last  summer  of  this  pastorate  closed  with 
a  very  interesting  revival  of  religion,  which  was  ever 
after  a  comfort  and  joy  to  remember. 

My  father  wrote  out  in  full  very  few  of  his  ser- 
mons ;  but  it  was  his  habit  to  record  in  small  note- 
books the  texts  and  analyses,  giving  usually  the  date 
and  place  of  preaching.  Sometimes  he  recorded  pas- 
toral visits,  or  mentioned  some  attendant  circum- 
stance. He  left  a  number  of  these  books,  going  back 
as  far  as  the  year  1848.  In  the  book  kept  in  Washing- 
ton, in  the  year  1886,  is  a  record  of  the  sermon  he 
preached  on  June  the  20th.  On  the  next  page  he  notes 
the  death  of  his  brother  Junius,  on  June  21,  with  the 
following  touching  tribute:  "This  was  a  sad  day  to 
me.  At  nine  a.  m.  a  telegram  from  Decatur  informed 
me  that  my  beloved  brother,  Junius,  was  dead.  At 
about  half  past  eleven  my  sympathizing  Dorothea  and 
I  started  to  Decatur.  We  found  a  weeping  family. 
The  burial  service  was  next  day  conducted  by  Doctor 
McDonald  of  Atlanta.  My  brother  was  in  childhood  my 
playmate ;  in  youth,  my  companion ;  in  manhood,  my 
friend ;  and  through  all  my  life  my  faithful  counselor 
and  loved  brother.     I  wish  my  children  to  cherish  his 


284  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

memory  and   love   his   children.     God  grant  that  we 
may  all  meet  in  Heaven." 

In  December,  1886,  my  father's  devoted  wife,  our 
honored  stepmother,  died.  This  was  a  very  severe 
blow  to  him.  He  had  scarcely  thought  she  would  go 
before  he  did.  He  was  eleven  years  her  senior  and  he 
naturally  hoped  to  have  her  companionship  as  long  as 
he  lived.  How  little  can  man  foresee  what  is  to  be- 
fall him !  She  cheered  and  comforted  him  for  fifteen 
years.  She  left  him,  and  he  lived  thirteen  years  with- 
out her.  We  mourned  her  loss  for  ourselves  as  well 
as  for  our  father.  She  had  been  always  kind,  loving, 
and  considerate,  and  there  was  never  a  ripple  of  dis- 
cord between  us. 

After  her  death  it  became  my  blessed  privilege  to 
have  the  care  of  my  father.  How  my  heart  bled  for 
him  in  his  affliction.  For  thirteen  years  I  watched 
over  him  and  tried  to  give  him  all  the  comfort  I  could. 
I  have  sometimes  thought  that  for  those  thirteen  years 
I  was  born.  In  them  was  a  lifetime  of  hope,  joy,  anx- 
iety, love  and  devotion.  In  them  was  a  volume  of  in- 
struction and  all  the  philosophy  of  life.  The  cui  bono 
of  discontent,  the  unrest  of  doubt  could  find  no  dwell- 
ing place  in  the  light  of  that  godly  life. 

When  I  brought  my  father  from  Washington  to  live 
with  me,  I  was  living  with  my  cousins  in  Decatur  and 
teaching  in  Atlanta.  He  resigned  his  pastorate  in 
Washington,  to  take  effect  as  soon  as  the  church  could 
secure  another  pastor ;  but  he  served  them  once  or 
twice  a  month  until  the  summer  of  1887,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  served  the  churches  at  Macedonia  and 
Clarkston.  Thus  in  his  affliction,  and  living  under  the 
threat  of  blindness  and  the  burden  of  nearly  seventy- 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  285 

eight  years,  he  continued  with  indefatigable  industry 
to  work.  Enforced  idleness  seemed  to  be  his  especial 
dread. 

Before  he  left  Washington  his  eyes  were  beginning 
to  fail,  but  for  eight  or  ten  months  longer  he  could 
see  to  read  and  write ;  then  the  shadow  deepened  so 
that  he  could  no  longer  read,  and  he  wrote  by  means 
of  a  little  machine  which  guided  the  lines  for  him.  At 
last  when  the  right  eye  was  fully  ready  for  operation 
we  had  the  cataract  removed.  I  remember  well  it 
was  the  Christmas  of  1889.  ^^  had  left  my  cousins' 
kind  and  pleasant  home,  where  I  had  lived  so  long,  to 
live  with  my  sister  Mary,  Mrs.  Janes,  who  had  re- 
cently made  her  home  in  Atlanta.  My  father  had  al- 
ways relied  greatly  on  this  daughter.  She  was  the 
child  of  his  youth,  and  in  her  girlhood  she  was  the  sun- 
shine of  his  home.  It  was  a  kind  Providence  that 
permitted  him  to  pass  his  last  days  under  her  roof. 

The  time  of  our  moving  had  special  reference  to  the 
operation  for  cataract.  It  was  performed  by  Dr.  A. 
W.  Calhoun  on  Saturday  morning,  the  23d  of  Decem- 
ber. The  orders  of  the  doctor  were  that  the  patient 
should  be  kept  very  still  for  a  week  or  more,  and  any 
sudden  or  rough  movement  might  be  fatal.  The 
following  Monday,  though  Christmas  Day,  was  sad 
for  Atlanta.  It  was  Henry  Grady's  funeral  day.  The 
streets  were  very  quiet  and  the  mayor  gave  orders 
that  no  popping  of  firecrackers  nor  other  noisy  sports 
should  be  indulged  in.  On  Tuesday  night,  however, 
the  restriction  was  withdrawn,  and  the  children  were 
daring  the  usual  perils  attendant  upon  such  pleasures. 
A  gay  crowd  was  gathered  on  the  piazza  of  our  house, 
and  one  little  boy  had  a  large  box. of  firecrackers  to 


286  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists, 

ignite  at  once.  The  danger  of  approaching  the  pow- 
der made  it  hard  to  control  the  fire,  and  soon  the  wood- 
work of  the  piazza  had  caught.  For  a  moment  there 
was  great  excitement.  I  was  in  my  father's  room  and 
I  heard  the  confusion  but  he  did  not  seem  to  notice  it. 
My  first  thought  was,  "What  if  father  should  be  dis- 
turbed?" To  move  him  might  be  fatal  to  his  eye, 
and  a  false  alarm  could  as  certainly  produce  this  re- 
sult as  the  real  fire.  My  anxiety  was  intense  as  I 
heard  running  to  and  fro  through  the  hall,  and  calls 
for  water,  and  I  dared  not  arouse  father  unnecessarily. 
But  as  I  stepped  out  to  see  what  the  danger  was,  I 
heard  the  welcome  words,  "It's  out !  it's  out !"  Oh, 
how  thankful  I  felt !  and  father  had  been  well  some 
time  before  he  heard  the  story. 

And  the  operation  was  successful.  Oh,  the  joy  of 
restored  sight !  Who  can  describe  it  ?  My  father's 
delight  had  in  it  the  simplicity  and  pathos  of  a  little 
child.  It  was  very  trying  to  one  of  his  energy  to  keep 
quiet  so  long  with  the  bandages  on  his  eye,  and  the 
first  time  they  were  removed  he  called  us  in  to  look 
at  him  and  rejoice  with  him,  and  he  was  doubly  happy 
when  he  found  that  he  could  read.  As  I  have  said, 
it  was  the  right  eye  that  was  thus  restored.  The 
other,  though  itself  nearly  gone,  was  not  ready  for 
the  operation,  and  the  doctor's  advice  was  not  to  oper- 
ate on  it,  unless  the  first  should  in  time  fail.  But  it 
did  not.  It  lighted  hira  through  the  rest  of  his  jour- 
ney— eleven  years — and  by  its  aid  he  wrote  the  "Rem- 
iniscences" and  much  more  besides. 

True,  his  sight  was  imperfect,  and  he  had  difficulty 
in  seeing  at  a  distance,  and  the  dimness  seemed  to 
increase  during  the  last  few  years  of  his  life,  but  he 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  287 

conld  see  to  read  and  write,  and  this  was  of  the  first 
importance  to  him. 

My  father  continued  his  charge  of  the  Clarkston 
church  until  the  fall  of  1892,  when  he  gave  it  up  on 
account  of  his  growing  infirmities.  This  was  his  last 
pastorate ;  he  was  then  in  his  eighty-fourth  year.  He 
continued  to  preach  by  special  invitation,  but  his  chief 
work  henceforth  was  in  his  contributions  to  the  Index. 
During  the  busiest  part  of  his  life  he  wrote  occasion- 
ally both  for  the  Index  and  the  Religious  Herald. 
From  1874  to  1878  he  was  an  editorial  contributor  to 
the  Index,  and  also  at  several  other  periods.  During 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life  he  was  almost 
a  constant  writer  for  that  paper.  In  1897  he  brought 
Dut  his  "Bible  Morality,"  a  book  designed  to  teach 
young  people  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality 
based  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  The  language 
is  clear  and  simple,  while  the  truths  inculcated  are 
rich  and  profound. 

In  the  space  of  a  few  pages,  I  am  trying  to  tell  the 
story  of  ninety  years.  It  must  be  that  what  is  left  un- 
told is  the  greater  part.  In  spite  of  the  bereavements 
that  I  have  described,  my  father's  life  was  a  happy 
one.  These  sad  events  were  far  apart  in  time,  though 
near  together  in  the  record,  and  he  met  them  with 
Christian  faith  and  hope.  He  often  called  himself  a 
happy  man  and  recounted  his  blessings.  Though  not 
robust  in  appearance,  he  enjoyed  good  health,  and  was 
unusually  exempt  from  physical  suffering.  He  was 
happy  in  his  family,  and  in  his  long  life  he  made  many 
friends.  He  was  often  encouraged  by  the  results  of 
his  labors  in  both  the  schoolroom  and  the  pulpit ;  and 
he  enjoyed,  to  the  last,  his  intellectual  pursuits. 


288  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

There  were  two  things  that  specially  contributed  to 
his  pleasure  during  his  last  years — letters  and  visits 
from  his  friends  and  relatives  and  children.  Soon  af- 
ter the  death  of  his  brother,  Judge  Junius  Hillyer,  he 
was  comforted  by  a  visit  from  his  elder  brother,  Dr. 
John  F.  Hillyer,  of  Texas.  This  was  their  last  meet- 
ing, but  for  seven  years  longer  they  were  able  to  hear 
from  each  other.  The  elder  brother  lived  to  be  nearly 
eighty-nine  and  died  December  12,  1893.  I  give  an 
extract  from  one  of  his  letters  written  May  5,  1889. 
It  shows  us  a  glimpse  of  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
writer  and  the  faithful  love  of  the  brothers :  "Granby, 
I  am  old.  I  have  been  in  many  storms  in  life  and 
have  fought  many  hard  battles.  I  know  life's  trials — 
pain  in  body  and  anguish  in  spirit ;  but  the  warm  and 
tender  sympathies  of  joy  and  love  are  living  in  me 
yet,  foreshadowing  the  blessings  of  Eternal  Life.  And 
this  brings  up  another  thought.  In  our  correspond- 
ence we  often  express  the  yearning  desire  to  spend 
the  last  remaining  fragment  of  our  lives  together. 
This  earnest  longing  has  been,  with  me,  sometimes 
painfully  intense.  The  good  and  beneficent  God  has 
largely  endowed  our  minds  with  the  constructive  fac- 
ulty. By  it  we  can  reconstruct  the  scenes  of  the  past 
and  re-enact  the  long  drama  of  life. 

'Fond  memory  brings  the  light 
Of  other  days  around  us.' 

And  thus  for  a  while  we  can  live  together  in  the  past. 
Presently  the  drama  will  end  and  the  curtain  will  drop. 
And  when  it  rises,  our  astonished  souls  will  be  trans- 
ported with  bliss,  as  we  look  upon  the  sublime  glories 
of  the  infinite  God,  the  divine  perfection  of  the  blessed 
Jesus,  and  the  limitless  fields  where  the  Holy  Spirit 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  289 

has  wrought  out  in  infinite  perfection  his  grand  con- 
ception of  the  universe  of  God." 

Sometimes  on  my  return  from  school,  my  father 
would  show  me  with  marked  pleasure  a  letter  he  had 
received  from  some  one  of  his  readers,  congratulating 
him  on  an  article  he  had  written ;  or  from  some  old 
friend,  calling  up  pleasant  associations.  Another  time 
he  was  happy  in  the  news  that  one  of  the  "children" 
was  coming  to  see  him.  He  would  say,  "Junius  will 
be  here  this  afternoon,"  or,  "Fanny  is  coming  next 
week,"  and  so  on,  through  the  list.  Then  he  would 
count  the  time,  and  quite  in  advance  of  the  appointed 
hour  he  would  take  his  place  near  the  front  door  and 
watch  for  every  car  that  passed.  I  know  the  happy 
gatherings  we  had  in  his  room  will  make  memory 
sweeter  to  each  one  of  those  loving  hearts.  They  had 
to  return  to  their  homes  and  their  duties,  but  "father's 
fireside"  was  the  family  center. 

At  the  close  of  one  of  the  articles  written  for  the 
Index  in  June,  1899,  my  father  mentioned  that  he 
would  reach  his  ninetieth  birthday  on  the  20th  of  that 
month.  To  our  surprise,  we  read  in  the  Atlanta  Jour- 
nal of  Monday  evening  the  19th,  that  the  pastors  of 
the  city  would  call  on  Doctor  Hillyer  in  a  body  the  next 
afternoon  at  five  o'clock.  This  had  been  agreed  upon 
at  their  conference  in  the  morning.  My  father  was 
greatly  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  the  visit,  and  talked 
much  of  it  in  anticipation.  Next  morning  there  was 
delivered  at  our  house  a  large  and  handsome  arm- 
chair, presented  by  the  pastors  as  a  birthday  gift.  If 
thev  could  have  seen  his  face  lighted  with  a  happy 
smile  of  pleasure  at  this  testimony  of  their  brotherly 
love,  thev   would   have   needed   no   word   of   thanks. 


290  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

When  they  gathered  in  the  evening  he  sat  in  the  chair 
while  they  offered  to  him  their  assurances  of  love  and 
reverence  and  expressions  of  appreciation  of  his  good 
and  useful  life. 

My  father  replied  to  it  all  in  his  own  touching  and 
simple  style.  One  thought  he  expressed  was  some- 
thing like  this :  The  pleasure  he  felt  in  the  presence 
of  his  brethren  reminded  him  that  all  through  his  life 
he  had  been  greatly  blessed  with  just  such  compan- 
ionship, and  he  quoted,  "I  am  a  companion  of  all  them 
that  fear  thee  and  of  them  that  keep  thy  precepts." 
Then  he  went  back  to  the  days  of  his  early  ministry, 
when  he  was  instructed  and  strengthened  by  those 
wise  men  older  than  himself;  and  he  called  the  long 
roll  of  honor,  Mercer,  Sherwood,  Mallary,  Dagg — 
then  his  contemporaries  in  the  pulpit  and  his  col- 
leagues at  Mercer,  and  so  through  life  he  gloried 
in  the  companionship  of  good  men.  Another  thought 
I  quote  from  memory:  "Too  often  we  withhold  our 
gifts  until  it  is  too  late  to  give  comfort  or  pleasure 
to  the  one  for  whom  they  are  intended.  You  have 
not  waited  till  I  am  dead  to  bring  your  flowers  to 
my  tomb;  but  you  have  anticipated  my  burial  and 
brought  your  gifts  of  love  so  that  I  might  enjoy  them." 

After  they  had  sung  and  prayed  and  shaken  hands 
in  true  Christian  love,  the  brethren  went  away  and  the 
happy  evening  passed ;  but  the  memory  of  that  meet- 
ing was  a  joy  to  my  father  for  the  remaining  eight 
months  of  his  life. 

Ah,  those  eight  months !  How  little  we  knew,  yet 
how  well  we  ought  to  have  known  that  every  moment 
was  golden.  How  were  we  able  to  do  anything  but  sit 
at  his  feet  and  learn  of  his  wisdom?     We  plodded 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists.  291 

along  as  usual,  working  our  daily  tasks  and  seeking 
our  worldly  interests,  sometimes  turning  aside  to  rest 
with  him  for  awhile.  Perhaps  it  was  better  so — the 
wise  Father  knew  it  all. 

About  three  weeks  before  his  death,  he  went  with 
my  brother  to  Marietta,  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon 
of  one  of  his  old  Scottsboro  pupils,  Mrs.  Meals.  Of 
this  sermon  Rev.  W.  A.  Wadsworth,  in  an  article  pub- 
lished in  the  Index  of  March  29,  1900,  thus  writes: 
"It  was  my  privilege  to  hear  the  last  sermon  of  Dr. 
Shaler  Hillyer,  who  so  recently  passed  to  his  eternal 
reward.  The  occasion  was  most  beautiful  and  touch- 
ing. Before  the  chancel  in  our  Baptist  chwrch  was 
the  casket  which  held  the  remains  of  Mrs.  Julia  Meals, 
who,  after  a  long  and  useful  life,  had  fallen  asleep  in 
her  seventy-sixth  year.  Facing  the  audience  stood  the 
able  and  venerable  man  of  God,  in  his  ninety-first  year, 
to  speak  in  tender  accents  of  the  many  virtues  of  his 
former  pupil  and  friend,  whom  he  had  baptized,  re- 
ceived into  the  church  and  at  whose  marriage  he  had 
officiated.  It  was  a  scene  to  be  witnessed  but  once  in 
a  lifetime.  The  pathos  of  it  melted  the  audience  to 
tears.  In  a  clear,  strong  voice,  but  full  of  sweetness, 
he  announced  the  text:  Tor  we  know  that  if  our 
earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we 
have  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens.' 

"^The  message,  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  occa- 
sion, was  more  than  a  eulogy  of  the  dead.  Under  his 
graphic  touch  came  out  the  picture  of  the  contrast  of 
a  life  planned  for  this  world  in  the  gratification  of 
the  flesh,  with  the  higher  spiritual  life  which  looked  to 
the  glorious  and  heavenlv  tabernacle  'made  without 


292  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

hands.'  The  appeal  to  forsake  the  folly  of  the  one  and 
enter  into  the  safety,  joy  and  exaltation  of  the  other, 
was  more  than  eloquent — it  quivered  with  the  power 
of  an  anointing  from  heaven.  Strong  men  in  the  au- 
dience, some  of  them  without  God,  were  mightily 
stirred.  The  old  veteran  of  the  cross  was  faithful  to 
his  commision  to  the  last.  Could  we  have  known  that 
it  was  his  final  appeal  as  an  ambassador  of  the  King, 
the  sentiment  and  impression  of  the  hour  would  have 
reached  a  climax  indeed. 

"The  softening  and  uplifting  influence  of  that  last 
sermon  will  abide  with  me  through  all  the  years. 
Though  a  minister  of  another  denomination,  I  desire, 
as  an  expression  of  my  personal  indebtedness,  to  lay 
one  modest  flower  upon  his  grave,  and  while  deplor- 
ing the  loss  to  his  denomination  and  the  world  of  so 
great  and  faithful  a  preacher,  to  rejoice  with  his  breth- 
ren over  the  assurance  that  with  triumph  he  has  en- 
tered into  'the  building  of  God'  on  high." 

I  think  it  was  the  day  after  his  return  from  Marietta 
(he  was  gone  about  two  days),  I  put  my  arms  around 
his  neck  and  said,  "Father,  I  did  miss  you  so  much 
while  you  were  gone."  I  believe  that  in  the  tender 
embrace  he  gave  me,  he  expressed  his  pity  for  his 
poor  child  who  was  so  soon  to  miss  him — always. 

How  distinctly  I  remember  his  last  days  with  us, 
yet  they  were  uneventful  days.  We  took  a  short  walk, 
I  think  it  was  Thursday  afternoon,  to  a  little  store 
near  by.  On  his  return  he  measured  the  distance  by 
his  steps  and  made  it  just  five  hundred  yards  to  our 
door.  Friday  evening  it  began  to  turn  cold,  and  Sat- 
urday was  a  very  cold  day.  He  was  writing  all  the 
morning,   and   I   remonstrated   with  him   for   fear  he 


Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists,  293 

could  not  keep  warm  while  trying  to  write.  Finally, 
early  in  the  afternoon,  he  laid  aside  his  pen  and  we 
sat  and  talked  together  for  a  while.  How  little  we 
thought  he  had  laid  aside  that  pen  forever.  In  the 
evening  I  read  to  him  for  some  time,  then  put  more 
cover  on  his  bed  and  bade  him  good  night. 

On  the  morrow — ah,  that  sad  morrow !  I  found 
him  unconscious.  He  could  not  be  roused,  and  we 
never  heard  his  loved  voice  again.  The  "children" 
came,  but  they  missed  his  tender  greeting.  This  time 
he  was  not  watching  for  the  cars.  On  the  next  morn- 
ing, Monday,  February  19,  1900,  he  breathed  his  last. 

He  lies  buried  in  Forsyth,  where  he  labored  .so  long 
and  faithfully  among  a  faithful  people. 


0  kind  friends,  who  read  this  story,  bear  with  me 
if  my  language  fails !  I  would  fain  proclaim  to  all 
the  world  the  sweetness  of  the  majesty,  and  the  beauty 
of  the  lowliness  of  one  whose  ideal  of  majesty  and 
beauty  was  found  in  the  character  of  his  meek  and 
lowly  Savior. 

1  know  there  are  many  hearts  in  Georgia  that  are 
bound  by  ties  of  strong  affection  to  the  memory  of  my 
beloved  father.  One  knew  him  as  pastor,  another  as 
teacher,  another  as  friend.  One  says,  "He  first  le'd 
me  to  Christ" ;  another,  "He  first  persuaded  me  to 
preach  the  gospel."  One  remembers  a  sermon,  an- 
other a  kind  word.  One  received  a  letter  when  in  sor- 
row ;  another  a  smile  of  congratulation  in  good  for- 
tune. Ah !  I  thank  you  and  love  you  all  for  your  affec- 
tion towards  him.  You  knew  him  and  believed  in  him 
as  a  Christian,  a  scholar,  and  a  sympathizing  friend. 
For  sixty-five   years  he   was   a   moral   and   religious 


294  Reminiscences  of  Georgia  Baptists. 

power  in  Georgia.  His  clear  and  earnest  voice  was 
heard  in  your  assemblies,  always  for  right  and  truth, 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  coming  of  his  kingdom. 
Vast  throngs  were  stirred  by  his  eloquence,  and  the 
souls  of  men  were  moved  to  repentance. 

In  the  place  where  his  children  knew  him,  in  his 
home  life  as  husband,  father,  and  in  the  olden  time 
as  '^master,"  his  virtues  shone  unrivaled.  His  con- 
sistently courteous  manner,  his  patience  under  trials, 
his  strong  and  gentle  firmness  in  discipline,  his  intol- 
erance of  falsehood  and  deception,  his  searching  eye 
and  gentle  hand,  combined  to  produce  a  wholesome 
fear  mingled  with  that  love  that  ^'casteth  out  fear." 


And  now,  dear  Father,  farewell !  I  have  followed 
your  noble  life  from  infancy  to  your  last  hour.  As  I 
read  and  reread  the  articles  written  by  your  beautiful 
hands — for 

''Beautiful  hands  are  they  that  do 
Deeds  that  are  noble,  good  and  true" — 

again  I  was  with  you  in  your  little  room  on  South 
Pryor  street.  I  saw  you  in  your  great  chair  by  the  fire 
thinking  your  wise  and  pure  thoughts.  Ah !  you  wist 
not  that  your  face  shone.    Oh,  that  beautiful  face — for 

"Beautiful  faces  are  they  that  wear 
The  light  of  a  gentle  spirit  there." 

Again  you  knelt  with  me  and  claimed  for  me,  un- 
worthy, the  promise  given  to  dutiful  children.  Again 
the  "good  night,  darling"  sounds  in  my  ear.  And  one 
unconscious  night  that  last  farewell  was  spoken,  and 
— ''He  giveth  his  beloved  sleep." 


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